


Cover Your Tracks

by Thestorans



Series: The Phases of a Moon [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Angst, Astromech Droids (Star Wars), Attempted Murder, Bottom Luke, Empire Remnants, Fluff, Imperial Officers (Star Wars), Kidnapping, Lightsaber Battles (Star Wars), M/M, Planet Nevarro (Star Wars), Planet Sorgan (Star Wars), Planet Tatooine (Star Wars), Planet Zeffo, Smut, The Force, The Mandalorian Darksaber (Star Wars), Top Din Djarin, X-Wing Fighter (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:35:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28712892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thestorans/pseuds/Thestorans
Summary: "Luke..." Din was about to speak, prepared to tell the Jedi to get back in his seat so he could make a quick getaway. But he was too late as a door from the side of the rusty ship quickly snapped opened to reveal large guns blasting towards their ship.It was all a trick, they were under attack.(Or the one where a Mandalorian, Jedi, and Padawan become a Clan of three)
Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Series: The Phases of a Moon [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2104791
Comments: 29
Kudos: 266





	Cover Your Tracks

**Author's Note:**

> I'm BACK! 
> 
> Before reading I just want to say thank you soooo much for the comments you all posted on Smoke Signals. The reason this part is out so soon is all because of the sweet comments I received. It really motivates me, and I can't thank you guys enough. 
> 
> Disclaimer before reading:
> 
> Again, I don’t support Gina Carano, only her character Cara Dune and how she is a great supporting character for Din. 
> 
> My Star Wars lingo and knowledge is getting better and better but again just be mindful this is my first Star Wars series. 
> 
> Enjoy!

"Din Djarin..."

Grogu giggled loudly, large eyes twinkling up at his doing. Luke was trying not to laugh as he called out his husband's name sternly. But the sight was too amusing in front of him, the way the Mandalorian was hung upside down all the way up into the ceiling of the cave. All because Grogu was getting way too comfortable with his powers, and the child wanted to show his father his newest trick.

"Help?" Din groaned as the blood rushed to his head and the way his helmet hung uncomfortably around his head. The training was definitely going to be over for the day.

Slowly, Luke walked towards Grogu, still enjoying the view but understanding the child needed to be taught a lesson in manners. He kneeled towards the young Padawan, moving a gloved hand out to pinch lightly at Grogu's ears. The child had a stubby arm reached out towards Din, that being the only thing holding the man up.

"You're getting stronger and stronger every day, Goober." Luke used the nickname he's found himself saying a lot towards the child now, trying to get Grogu's attention softly without making the child completely lose control of the Force. Even though Din had a helmet of pure beskar, the fall would still surely break his neck.

Grogu just replied with a gurgle and a happy whine, showing off his small front teeth as he smiled towards Luke. It was like he was saying ' _look, papa, I've got daddy!'_

"I'm proud of you, your father is too. But remember what I said about using the Force when you're not in control..." Luke gave Grogu a stern look, and the child's smile slowly faded in understanding.

"Right now you can't just let go, you need to control the Force and bring your dad down to the ground safely. Okay?" Luke quickly reminded Grogu, already seeing Din's body faltering in its frozen state on the rock ceiling.

Grogu tilted his head towards Luke, then moved his gaze up to where Din was, his large eyes looking for his father to his own little hand. There was a short pause, the only sound being the echo of Din's nervous breathing. It felt like forever, but slowly Grogu's hand moved down with Din's body following it.

It was going so well, Din's body now turned into a horizontal position. He was just a few feet off the ground, and the Mandalorian desperately tried to gain traction in the air to kick himself vertically. But his movements only caused Grogu to giggle in amusement, the little hand falling to hold his mouth in laughter.

And because of that, Din plummeted to the sandy floor with a loud " _oomph!"_

Grogu was having a fit, laughing uncontrollably. It was a beautiful thing to hear, and Luke couldn't help but smile fondly. God, his life was amazing.

Din slowly got up with a groan, already wiping off the sand that covered his clothes and armour. Luke could tell he was glaring at the both of them, but of course, it was all out of love. He could feel it.

"You're lucky Luke was here to catch you doing that or else I would've been a crumpled mess of metal on the ground." Din moved towards Grogu, shaking his head as he picked up the child. Grogu immediately started to purr.

"Womp rat," Din mumbled as he turned his helmet towards Luke. He walked over and grabbed at the back of Luke's neck, the Jedi's eyes already closing because he knew what was going to happen next. Their foreheads touched, Din's gloved thumb rubbing softly at the base of Luke's neck.

"How did you know he was doing this?" Din asked, keeping their foreheads pressed together.

Luke, with his eyes still closed, answered with a chuckle. "I've told you a thousand times, Grogu and I are connected through the Force more and more as he gets stronger. I felt a disturbance in town, and knew it had to be you and him training here."

Din sighed, shifting Grogu in his arms so the child was between both his and Luke's faces. It was the child's favourite place to be, squished in the middle of its two fathers. To show his affection, Grogu lifted both his hands to place one on Din's helmet and one across Luke's cheek.

"I keep forgetting I'm now the least powerful member in the clan," Din joked, earning a light slap across one of his bicep plates.

They made their way back, both on their separate speeders with Grogu settled in a sling across Luke's chest. The town of Mos Pelgo stood tall a few miles in front of them, bustling with people along the streets.

After gathering up Luke's X-Wing from Endor, they had decided to stay in Mos Peglo for a little while longer. Not because they feared for their safety, but because the town was considered their home now. It carried memories that they never wanted to forget, and they grew attached to the people that occupied it. It was also a perfect place to train, to Luke's surprise.

No one knew about Luke and Grogu's connection to the Force and how they were Jedi, or that Luke and Din were married. They also hadn't changed their identities since their first appearance in the town. Luke was still Luke Djarin, and Din was still Mando. That's what everyone in the town called them. The only thing that hadn't changed was Grogu's name and R2's, both the droid and child becoming mini celebrity's in the town now.

It was perfect, so perfect that Luke had to pinch himself at night as he laid his head on Din's naked chest.

They stopped their bikes at the entrance to the town beside a group of Bantha's, both stepping off the bikes and walking side by side into town.

"We should get him some sand gear, or at least some goggles..." Luke winced as he brushed off all the sand that was covered across Grogu's fuzzy head. The child rubbed at his eyes, whining.

Din looked at Grogu and couldn't help but agree. It was getting windier out as well, sand storms had begun to rumble into town more often. It was the best for the child's safety and both Din and Luke's sanity if they got the little one some protective gear.

They walked towards their home first, small metal chimes singing in the wind as they walked in front of the door. Once inside, Luke settled Grogu out of the little pouch to place his Saber underneath Din and his bed. He never took it with him since the weapon stuck out like a sore thumb around his waist. Din was okay to carry his of course, since it was just another weapon that added to his collection along his utility belt.

Luke swore that the Darksaber had now become glued to Din's hip, a huge change compared to when they first met and when the Mandalorian wanted nothing to do with it.

Din was waiting at the door, one hand full of credits and the other cradling Grogu. He handed the child immediately over to Luke though, the Jedi immediately snuggling Grogu into the little sling that was still wrapped around his chest. That was one thing Luke always kept on, a little cradle made from a scarf he had bought at one of the vendors. It held Grogu perfectly and was comfortable around Luke's neck. Din wasn't too fond of wearing it though, but he already had enough weight to carry with the beskar and collection of weapons.

They made their way down the street, side by side with Grogu's little green head poking out from the sling. They all collectively smiled at each vendor and person walking past, saying soft ' _hello's_ ' and ' _how are you's'_ when people brushed past them or greeted them with a nod.

"Marjorie!" Luke yelled, stepping enthusiastically towards a particular vendor occupied by an older woman. She had long grey hair wrapped in a braid along her back, it went all the way behind her knees. She had told Luke she hadn't cut it since she was a little girl.

"Luke Djarin, it's nice to see you back again...and of course with the little one and your knight." Marjorie leaned forward, one finger softly caressing one of Grogu's ears as the child beamed up at her. Din was shaking his head, but only in amusement at the little nickname the old lady had given him. A knight, he'd prefer space cowboy.

"Do you have any sand gear or goggles? Goober here is getting pretty annoyed with the sand in his face all the time, especially when we go on our speeders to Mos Eisley." Luke and Din had gathered up a lie that they were travelling to Mos Eisley, the large spaceport city, for work. It was the best way to cover up their Jedi training trips to the mudhorn cave. It seemed to work pretty well so far, no one ever questioned them.

It was probably because Din was seen as just as high in authority as Cobb Vanth. This town respected him but they also recognized him as an intimidating Mandalorian who walked around with enough weapons to kill an entire group of stormtroopers. Luke of course didn't look at all scary, looking more like his past farm boy self with dusty robes and frizzy hair. But, whatever kept him in hiding.

"Oh my, I understand, the poor thing." She kneeled into the back of her cart, disappearing for a few moments with only the sounds of rummaging items against the wood. Luke just turned his head to smile at Din, the Mandalorian returning it by softly bumping their shoulders together.

"Aha," Marjorie jolted up from her spot, holding up a pair of kid's goggles in her grip. They were very old and chunky, webs of cracks along the surface of the eyepieces. But they would work.

"Oh, these are wonderful!" Luke lit up, Marjorie passing them into his palm with a smile across her face. She looked just as excited as he was.

Din let out a grunt when Luke suddenly passed Grogu over to him, big blue eyes ecstatic to get the goggles on their kid. He gladly held Grogu up, the child trying to reach for the goggles while Luke attempted to put them down.

"Hey kid, let him put it on." Din gave Grogu a look over the child's shoulder, the child staring back at him with those same dough-eyes that made all the ladies in the town melt. It was enough distraction for Luke to squeeze them on, having to adjust them a lot for them to fit around Grogu's extremely large ears. The goggles were made for a human, but they still fit snug around the child's eyes.

"Oh my _stars_ , Din look at him!" The moms in the town must have gotten to the Jedi because he was almost vibrating with excitement at the sight of his child with goggles on. It was just goggles, jeez.

"I see him." Din acknowledged Luke's enthusiasm, tilting Grogu back against his chest to get a good look at the kid. Yep, still cute.

"We'll take them, oh thank you so much, Marjorie!" Din fishes for the credits he had placed in one of his pockets, handing it to Luke as the Jedi babbled on to the woman who listened to every word.

Din turned away from the vendor, staring off into the desert outside of the town. He could still see their speeders, the heard of Bantha's beside them chewing away at their hay. His head tilted in curiosity when one of them got startled, its large furry head looking up at the sky as it mewled.

But then Luke was pushing him, his strength so harsh that it caused Din to roll until he hit the wall to one of the houses along the side of the street. There were too many things happening at once, the sound of a blaster, screams of people, the clouds of sand blocking his view of Luke from it being kicked up while everyone ran for cover.

Slowly the sand parted, Din's sensors finally catching a heat signature. But it was laying on the ground, and that made his heart fall into his gut.

"No, no, no, no, _no."_ Din kept Grogu pinned to his chest, one hand holding his blaster as he crawled towards the body. He saw the shoes, next the dusty robe, then the tanned face with the frizzy hair, and lastly the large blaster wound that was singed across Luke's shoulder.

"Luke... _Jate'kara_..." Din choked out Luke's nickname, meaning luck in his language. It was a name he gave to Luke while they were travelling back to Mos Pelgo. Luke had asked about Mando'a, his native language, and it started up a lesson. Jate'kara; meaning luck, destiny.

Luke was his lucky charm, and here he was with not a scratch on him as his husband laid unconscious along the sand. Was that really luck?

With no answer after a few more shakes and calls of Luke's name, Din had grabbed the Jedi by the waist and dragged him into an alleyway. The dust was still attempting the clear, the town slowly growing silent with everyone crammed inside their homes for protection.

Din placed Grogu in Luke's sling, him immediately focusing on the threat as he pointed the blaster back into the streets. He breathed heavily, trying desperately to push Luke being hurt aside. If he worried about the Jedi now and stayed off his game, they could all be dead.

He slid into the streets behind a vendor, blaster holes punched through the sides of it. It allowed him to see into the middle of the street more, and soon enough three faded figures came waltzing his way.

The sand parted as if it was curtains, and Din squinted through his visor, desperate to see who dared come into their town.

And in front of him, revealed Mandalorian helmets.

Din was frozen in place, he couldn't believe his eyes. It wasn't just any Mandalorian armour, the familiar white design across the front of their helmets, the owl eyes that scanned the area.

Bo-Katan.

As if hearing Din's realization, Bo-Katan revealed herself by taking off her helmet. Her hair was a shocking red against the dull beiges that surrounded her. She was a flame against the town, and she loved it.

"Mandalorian!" She yelled, her voice echoing through the empty streets. All that was heard was the wind below her voice.

With no reply, her eyes hardened as she took a step forward. Din sunk deeper against the vendor.

"I apologize, that blast was meant for you. I should've known better that your Jedi friend would come to your rescue." She took another step forward, eyes dancing across the street, every alleyway, every stand, every window and door. "But I guess I didn't want to believe that you and a Jedi, a known enemy to the Mandalorians, had grown attached."

"You know nothing about the Jedi!" Din broke his silence and quickly rushed out from behind the vendor and behind another stand. It was just in time because Bo-Katan had thrown up her blaster and shot right into where he once kneeled.

"Cmon Mandalorian! What kind of fight is this? This isn't how the ruler of Mandalore fights." She laughed, almost looking insane as she glided her blaster across the street, back and forth.

"This isn't a fair fight, you caught me off guard. Is that what will make you the ruler of Mandalore?!" Din reached for the Darksaber that still hung along his belt. He took a deep breath before allowing the laser to fly out and illuminate his surroundings. It buzzed to life, the sword as dark as night as it moved in his hands.

He finally went out of hiding, walking into the middle of the street a few vendors down from her. Her head tilted with a curious smile across her face, but all Din could see was the hunger in her eyes as she stared at the Saber in his hands.

"I thought this was supposed to be won in battle? What kind of battle is shooting me from the sky like a coward?" Din cut the Saber through the air, attempting to intimidate her as he took a few steps forward. Bo-Katan didn't even blink.

"I'm smart enough to know a blast wouldn't kill you. It was to clear the streets, and if you're injured that leaves me with more leverage." Din fumed at her words, hating how Luke jumped in front of him. The blast would've ricocheted off his armour or worse hit his shoulder. He would be fine and still able to fight.

"Alright then, you came for a fight, you've got one." Din gripped his Saber tighter and was about to charge at Bo-Katan when more blasts came flying through the air. But this time they were behind him, aimed at Bo-Katan and the duo behind her. She immediately ducked for cover, shoving her helmet on with her blasters out. They were all backed into an alleyway, the sand swarming around the air again because of the missed shots that hit the ground.

Din felt a presence beside him, and he turned to see Marshal Cobb Vanth standing with his blaster drawn and glaring at where the Mandalorian gang once stood.

"Now I would like to make this very clear," he took a step forward, "this is no place for some hot-shot battle for some throne. You've trespassed in my town, and I'm asking you to leave."

There was still no sign of them, and Din grew nervous.

"That was me asking nicely, but if you're not much on listening I can do it the hard way." There were more sounds of feet against sand behind Din, and he dared to turn around. He was astonished to see five of the townsmen standing with blasters, stun guns, and spears.

Now Bo-Katan was vastly out-numbered. Not a fair fight at all and Din knew she wouldn't advance.

He was right because not even a few seconds later after his thought, three Mandalorians came firing out from one of the alleyways and into the sky. Their jet packs were shockingly loud amongst the silent atmosphere, and all the men behind Din and Cobb jumped.

But Bo-Katan was gone, with only a look over her shoulder as she flew off into the desert.

+

As soon as Bo-Katan had lifted off the ground and out of the town, Din's thoughts were immediately focused completely on Luke. His body felt numb as he hooked the Darksaber back onto his waist, legs feeling like jelly as he ran over to the Jedi and his son.

Luke was awake, blinking up at him with a sigh. He looked more annoyed than anything, a wince creeping upon his face when he attempted to move. Surprisingly Grogu was asleep on Luke's chest, but once he saw the wound and how much better it looked, Din understood.

"He tried to heal you?" Din asked, being as gentle as possible as he lifted Grogu off Luke's chest. He settled the child against the wall on the ground, little head propped up as he snored away. Poor thing was probably exhausted from attempting to heal his papa.

"I c-couldn't stop him. Before I r-realized what he was doing, h-he had already gone unconscious." Din didn't mind at all that Grogu had lost his energy, because he knew the child enough to know that he would awaken in a few hours. The wound on Luke's shoulder looked much better and kept Din from losing his mind.

"Mando?" Cobb's voice was behind him as the Marshal rushed towards the three of them. His entire shirt was damp with sweat, his hands shaking. It had been a while since the town had to deal with a fight like this.

"Can you hold Grogu so I can pick him up?" Din asked, one hand reaching out to press at Luke's arm in comfort. The Jedi was wincing at the slightest movements, and Din could tell Luke was trying to get up himself but failing.

Cobb agreed immediately, the Marshal delicately picking Grogu up and following Din back towards the house. They trotted across the street, all the townspeople's eyes on them as they moved. Din would worry about the attention they brought to themselves later, right now his head was completely wrapped around Luke.

Once inside, Din settled Luke down along the cot in the living room. R2 was so close to him that the droid bumped into the backs of Din's heels, it was obviously very concerned for its master. Din had grown to like the tin-can during the months they had lived together in Mos Pelgo, and the Mandalorian was surprised he wasn't even mad when the droid squeezed its way between him and Luke to check the Jedi over.

Cobb was still in their house, cradling Grogu as he stared at the scene with wild eyes. Din felt more than guilty for allowing this to happen, stupidly thinking that Luke and him were safe in this small town. Too many people were looking for them with too many spies and followers that could easily track them down. Now they had risked the lives of an entire town.

"Cobb..."

"Don't," Cobb took in a deep breath as one hand moved up to massage at his forehead. "Don't apologize," he finished.

But Din thought that was ridiculous, killing a Krayt Dragon for this town made him well-liked and trusted but at some point his welcome should be warn out. Today is the day.

"We should have told you as soon as we stepped foot into your town. We risked the lives of all your people." Din got up from where he was kneeling beside Luke's cot. The Jedi was groaning and yelping as R2 worked on his shoulder, he barely looked conscious.

"No one was injured, the worst is the damage done to the vendors. We can easily rebuild, this is not as drastic as you think." Din softened under Cobb's assurance, but he still felt that guilt in his chest. It weighed him down along with the worry of Luke's health.

"Cobb..." Din trailed off, but the Marshal was already moving and handing Grogu off into Din's arms. Cobb only gave him a silent nod and an assuring smile before he walked off and out of the house.

R2 beeped and hissed, and Din broke away from the many thoughts that were flooding his mind to look down at the droid and his husband. Luke looked a lot better, the sling he had for Grogu was ripped to be a perfect size as a sling for Luke's shoulder. The Jedi was completely covered in sweat, skin glistening in the light as he breathed in and out deeply. He looked more alert now, his blue eyes staring up at Din.

"I felt them coming-"

"Rest, " Din interrupted Luke before he could explain any further. He would rather go into detail about things when the Jedi was fully healed and with Grogu awake.

Din honestly felt like he needed a good rest after the situation anyways. It was one of the largest adrenaline rushes he's ever felt. His quick loss of energy made him nervous, he didn't know if the reason was because he had Luke and Grogu with him or if he was getting old. One thing he knew for sure about all this, was that fighting like this didn't feel as good as it used to when he was bounty hunting.

+

Din blinked his eyes opened to see Luke laying on his side beside him, gloved hand combing through his brown hair. He was smiling down at him with those mesmerizing eyes and Din couldn't help but be in disbelief that he was all his.

It felt amazing to be able to wake up to see Luke without worrying about his helmet being placed on. He was in the safety of his own home.

But then everything came rushing back and hit him like a slap to the face. Safety didn't feel like a good word to describe this place anymore.

Luke felt Din's body stiffen, his hand stopping its movements along his hair as he frowned. He still had the sling on, but the blaster wound was now just a harsh bruise that ran from his collarbone and down to his armpit.

"You don't feel safe here anymore, " Luke spoke what Din was thinking, and Din just blinked back at him.

"And you do?" Din finally asked, sitting up to lean against his elbows. Luke shifted so he was lying down now, his gloved hand rubbing along Din's armourless bicep.

Luke was thinking for a moment, still focusing on his hand along Din's body. It grounded him.

"I've grown fond of this place, and Grogu is progressing faster than ever with his training." Din immediately shook his head at the excuse. He shuffled off the bed and stood with his face turned towards the window that looked over the desert. He couldn't help but look up at the sky, expecting three Mandalorians to appear and shoot him down.

"If they would've shot anywhere else, you'd be dead." Din pointed out bluntly, not allowing himself to turn to look into Luke's eyes. He could hear movements along the bed, the feeling of his husband shuffling closer to him.

"But I'm not. I'm okay, Grogu's okay. No one was hurt-"

"Do you understand who that was?" Din didn't want Luke to list out more excuses. The Mandalorian's mind wasn't going to be changed, not even by a Jedi.

"No...I barely caught a glimpse of them before I was shot." Luke sounded guilty, voice growing quieter as he felt Din's frustration.

"Bo-Katan...she was the one that was supposed to yield the Darksaber. She thought she was walking towards a fight with Gideon on that ship, but it was me." Din squinted into the light, the day flashing before his eyes. He remembers all the emotions he had gone through, from relief to loss, from anger to sadness.

"And you won," Luke mumbled from right behind Din, the Mandalorian didn't even notice that his husband was so close. He must be buried deep inside his head.

"I won. And now she won't stop until she finds me and declares what's hers...properly." Din turned, hands moving to Luke's waist. He couldn't help but intensely stare at the wound along Luke's shoulder. He hated it.

"Then if we need to fight we'll fight. But why run away?" Luke stared at him sadly, the Jedi looking defeated and still drained of all energy. This decision was hard on both their bodies and minds, it was something they loathed to talk about.

"Because if we stay the town will get hurt, people will _die_ , Luke." Din lightly shook Luke's waist as if to shake the stubbornness out of the Jedi. That only caused Luke to frown harder.

"I-I know, " Luke breathed in heavily and exhaled just as harshly. "I've just been running all my life. I thought that since I finally found a family we could have a normal life."

That broke Din's heart into pieces because he's lived a very similar life to Luke's. Running, hiding, no attachments, no feelings, just go, go, _go_. He had never quite realized the pure bliss of being left alone and being able to cook a meal with his loved ones every night, to sleep in a bed with someone he called his husband.

Din leaned towards Luke, pressing a lingering and deep kiss across the dirty blonde's still damp forehead. He closed his eyes and breathed in, home.

_Home._

"Home doesn't need to be a place," Din mumbled, voice so quiet it was barely above a whisper. He was more saying it to himself, but Luke had leaned out of his arms to look up at him in curiosity.

"Din?" He asked, his free hand reaching up to slowly caress down his stubble and cup at his chin.

"Endor felt like home and we left, and look at us now, we're okay." Luke still wasn't following Din's words, his brows permanently knitted together.

"But we aren't okay just cause we have a new roof over our heads, right? We're okay cause we have each other, our clan." Luke's expression softened, the hand across Din's face moving to comb through the Mandalorian's messy curls.

There was a pause, just their shared silence and the wind outside. They spoke through their eyes, smiling at one another.

"Okay, " Luke finally spoke, stepping back and slumping into a sitting position on the bed as if his choice took the air right out of him. "Okay, we leave tomorrow morning."

Din smiled sadly but felt relieved, he couldn't allow anyone else to get hurt because of them.

He stepped between Luke's spread legs, both hands settled on the Jedi's thighs as he leaned down to press his forehead into Luke's. They both met in the middle, sealing a much-needed kiss.

" _Jate'kara_ ," Din whispered into Luke's lips as they broke apart, breathing each other in as their noses brushed together.

"Always, " Luke replied.

+

"You don't need to leave, Mando." Cobb was devastated when Din had broken the news to him at the crack of dawn the next day while Luke flew off to hide his X-Wing in their secret mudhorn cave. The Marshal was still attempting to steer them away from their decision, but the guilt weighed Din's shoulders down too much. Staying to him meant sentencing the town of Mos Pelgo to death.

"I'm sorry Marshal, this was a hard decision but for you and your people's safety it would be best if we left." Din loved that he wore a helmet during these times, no one had to see the pure sadness across his face as he said these things.

"We will come to visit again, someday, " Luke assured Cobb just as he was finished hugging Marjorie, the old lady handing him a goodie bag full of supplies from her stand. She was near tears, a wobbly lip forcing a smile as Luke stepped back beside Din.

"You're both welcome to come back anytime. Mandalorian, " Cobb turned his gaze to Luke, "and Jedi."

Luke's mouth grew dry at the name, he remembers Din telling him how the town now knew about his true identity. But there were still things kept secret, like Grogu's powers and his true last name. He would rather be known as the Jedi Knight Luke Djarin than the name that would kill him in a second if a spy for the Empire had heard.

They both nodded, giving Cobb one last hug and allowing Grogu to get cradled in the man's arms one last time before they boarded the ship. R2 of course was rolling slowly behind them, low beeps passing through the droid as it expressed its sadness towards their departure.

The entire town was out of their homes and waving them goodbye, it broke Luke's heart to watch them turn into tiny specks along the desert floor as they flew farther and farther away from Tatooine.

"Where are we going to go?" He asked as he forced himself to move from the window to sit beside Din. Grogu was settled in his own little chair behind them, happily playing with his metal ball.

"Sorgan. It's a place where Grogu and I had gone to hide at the start of all this." He didn't meet Luke's gaze, too busy flipping switches and pressing buttons.

Luke doesn't remember if he had ever gone to Sorgan, the planet didn't ring a bell amongst his lengthy memories of trips to multiple planets. It was a good thing, a similar thing to Mos Pelgo but only this time it was a whole planet secluded and untouched by the Empire.

But they had thought Mos Pelgo was the safest place in the universe, and look at them now, running from it.

"It is still in the Outer Rim, so it won't be too long of a trip." Din had put the ship on auto-pilot so he could turn around and stare at Luke. His helmet was tilted in thought.

"What are you thinking so much about?" Luke asked as he stood up and moved to stand between Din's legs. The ship was steady now, and it was eerily quiet compared to what they were used to. Even Grogu was quiet, the child more focused on rolling the metal ball in his little hands.

"You, your shoulder in town...your ankle on Endor." Din turned his head down, staring down at his lap as he answered Luke's question. Luke couldn't help but roll his eyes and move to place both his hands on either side of his husband's helmet, lifting his head to force him to look into his eyes.

"I'm fine, I healed in only a couple of hours _both_ times."

"But what about when you don't have time to heal. What if the next time you're too weak to heal yourself?" Din's words that were filled with doubt reminded Luke about how different their views were. Luke had always thought of the bright side to things, and Din reminded himself of the negatives.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked softly, he could hear the strain in Din's voice, how much the Mandalorian struggled to say that sentence out loud.

"I mean that we can lessen your chances of getting hurt." Luke still wasn't following, but he gave his husband his full attention as he tried to understand.

"Armour, " Din finished, now moving a gloved hand up to press at Luke's chest. It finally clicked for the Jedi, Din wanted him to wear the Mandalorian armour, which meant swearing to the creed.

"I..." Luke was speechless. Even though he knew how much Din loved him, he still felt shocked that the Mandalorian loved him so much to the point he wanted him to wear armour just like him. It made him feel warm inside.

"You don't have to keep the helmet on as I do, you have your own Order to follow and create. But I have met enough Mandalorian's that swore to the creed and didn't wear their helmet permanently." Luke had never heard Din speak so fast, it was as if the man was desperately trying to justify himself with an explanation. Luke shook his head, leaning forward to press his forehead to Din's metal one. Din immediately relaxed, the hand across Luke's chest falling to his lap.

"You don't have to justify why you want me safe. I understand, " Luke paused in thought, his mind wandering to the Armorer and how she was making Mandalorian armour while he was speaking to her about Din and Grogu. She must be the one to swear him into the creed and give him the armour.

But she was in Nevarro, and that place was crawling with post-Empire spies and secret Imperial groups. They'd be risking a lot.

"But there is no way we can get my armour right now, we can't risk going to Nevarro, it's a death wish." Din was nodding along to Luke's words, both of them falling into silence as Din got up from his seat to stare off into the side windows of the ship. Stars twisted by like glowing polka-dots, all of them winking towards Din as he watched them pass. He hasn't been in space in a while, and now he truly hated the endless void of loneliness it drowned him in.

"You know if I could we would be setting our coordinates to Nevarro," Din sighed out, hating that his wishes were being smothered by his enemies once again. It was always either remnants of the Empire or someone who had a quarrel with him. "I can't bare to see you take a step off this ship without some piece of protection on you."

Din was surprised at the chuckle Luke let out, and he looked over his shoulder in curiosity.

Luke flashed his Lightsaber that was still hanging on his belt, smiling, "this is my protection right here, you forget that I've taken out a whole battalion of Dark Troopers."

But Din just tilted his head down, not showing that he was impressed. So, Luke comforted him by moving forward to press his front to Din's back, arms wrapping around the Mandalorian's waist. He couldn't quite reach Din's shoulder to hook his chin upon, so Luke settled for burying his cheek into the back of his shoulder.

"You're still human. You still have a beating heart just like everyone else. I'm allowed to worry...especially when it feels like half the universe is after us."

Din had a point, and Luke wouldn't dare argue any further. This conversation lead to no solution towards Luke's safety, but it gave them something to look forward to once this all blew over once again. They had already pathed the way towards their next journey.

"I'm going to get us into hyperspace now, we should be there as the sun rises on Sorgan." Din spoke, finishing their conversation. Luke had silently nodded, allowing the Mandalorian to brush past him and settle back into his chair. Luke quickly made his way into the back of the ship to check on R2, then strapping himself in and making sure Grogu was secure as well.

Then Din pressed forward along the lever, the stars morphing into long streaks of light as the ship got locked into hyperspace. Luke had jolted backward with a huff, Grogu giggling with his arms flying up in excitement.

+

They weren't strapped in for long, Luke was sleeping with his head lulled along his shoulder, soft snores passing his lips. Grogu was asleep as well, the young Padawan's chin tucked into his chest, large ears flattened along his head like a bonnet.

Din was wide awake though, there were too many things to think about. It felt like they were just chasing their tails at this point, every time they had felt happiness and tranquillity it was ripped away from them by something that haunted their past. Din was starting to think he was going to die a worried man.

He was rudely ripped out of his mind by the ship's alarms blaring across the cockpit. Red lights flooded the darkness of the ship, and Luke jolted from where he rested with a gasp.

Din grunted in surprise, looking down at his monitor to see that the front sensors of the ship detected someone blocking their flight path. The ship was automatically jumping out of hyperspace.

They could only watch as the ship slowed down until they were simply floating in space. In front of them was a large ship that looked older than theirs, rust building along the sides of it.

"It looks like a scavenger ship, " Luke mumbled as he unbuckled himself out of his seat to lean over the front dash and get a closer look. Din felt a sense of dread start to build itself inside of him, but he couldn't jump to conclusions just yet.

"No matter how old a ship is they have to have a beacon that shows ships flight paths. Why would they block us?" Din glared at the piece of junk in front of them, the sensors across his helmet revealing nothing to him. But he wouldn't dare drop his guard yet, this was too suspicious.

"Can you reach them through their intercoms?" Luke asked a good question, and Din immediately opened up his own com to listen in on any connections. But there was nothing.

Luke frowned at the static across the intercom, showing that no one was attempting to reach them. Now the Jedi looked worried as well, both of them feeling like sitting ducks. All they could do was stare off towards the ship that hovered in front of them, with no intention to let them pass.

"Luke..." Din was about to speak, prepared to tell the Jedi to get back in his seat so he could make a quick getaway. But he was too late as a door from the side of the rusty ship quickly snapped opened to reveal large guns blasting towards their ship.

It was all a trick, they were under attack.

They all let out yells as the side of the ship immediately got hit by one of the blasts, causing it to rock aggressively from side to side. The blasts were merciless, shooting one after the other and hitting the ship two more times before Din finally regained his balance along his seat to grab the steering and jolt the ship to the side to dodge the rest of the blasts.

They were now in a chase, the ship constantly rocking and shaking because of the damage already done to it. Luke was trying desperately to get back to his seat, but the Jedi kept tumbling backwards and hitting the wall.

"I can't control anything, all I can do is steer us into that planet." Din pointed a stiff finger towards a dark blue and green planet a few miles ahead. It was the only place close enough to land.

Luke tried to answer but was shook back to the wall, groaning loudly when the ship made a particularly rough jerk causing him to fall onto the floor. The best thing was to crawl to his seat now and Din couldn't help but frantically look back and forth from swerving the blasts and aiming for the planet to checking to make sure Luke was okay.

"Luke now's the time to get into your seat!" Din yelled as the ship started to burn up in the front showing they were entering the atmosphere.

"I'm _trying, "_ Luke snapped back, his hand finally being able to reach the arm of his chair so he could carefully lift himself into the seat. As soon as he sat himself down he grabbed the seatbelt and clipped it into place. Din was breathing heavily beside him, leaning over the steering wheel in full concentration as he veered left and right, dodging more blasts.

They could see the ground of the planet, and it didn't look very welcoming. Rough waters covered most of the planet, what was land looked only to be rocks, cliffs and some greenery. No trees, no protection.

Din's arms shook, all the muscles in his body focusing on making sure the ship stayed steady. The rogue ship had stopped shooting at them, probably waiting to see if they were even going to make their landing. That gave Din a chance to quickly press at a button Luke didn't recognize, blue light flashing across the dash. It looked like it was a locator beacon.

The ship shook again, it attempting to spiral from the uneven damage that weighed down the one side. Din struggled once more, letting out a long growl as his knuckles clenched tightly along the steering.

As the ground became more and more clear, creeping closer and closer towards them as if taunting them with their lives, both the Jedi and Mandalorian couldn't help the fear that surged through them. Separately they have been in countless crashes, but never together. They now had to worry if the other lover would make it out in the end.

Luke couldn't help but close his eyes, reaching through the Force and trying to aid Din in keeping the steering steady. It worked, the ship halting it's vibrations as they braced for landing. Luckily, the ship moved as gracefully as it could onto the ground. The belly of the ship doing two hops across the ground before finally digging itself into the dirt and stopping.

Rocks and roots covered the front window of the cockpit, smoke softly billowed out from underneath the door leading out of the cockpit. Everything was silent, the ship still and dark, completely broken.

Grogu broke the silence this time, the child letting out a worried whine as he searched the ground for his metal ball that had fallen out of his grip during their descent. Din and Luke couldn't help but look at one another, Luke giving the Mandalorian a fond and thankful smile.

" _Jate'kara, "_ Din said the familiar nickname, Luke could only blush and roll his eyes as he unbuckled himself from his seat to search for R2.

"The droid was down there?" Din asked, obviously doubting R2D2's survival. But Luke just gave his husband a look over his shoulder before opening the doors to the main compartment of the ship.

It was completely covered in smoke, Luke had to keep his hands in front of him in case he bumped into anything. But he knew exactly where he had put R2 before he had got into his seat, and he was positive the droid was safe.

His gloved hand lightly hit what felt like buttons on the wall, and Luke immediately twisted himself towards it, pressing his finger along the last button.

A door opened, revealing a tiny compartment tucked away for storage in the ship. It was the perfect size for R2 to fit, and it had a place for the droid to plug itself in. He was glad he did that, or else R2 would've been scrap metal.

"Luke!" Din's voice called from the cockpit, and the man sounded not at all impressed. So, Luke quickly unplugged R2 and allowed the droid to turn on before rushing back up to where his clan was.

Once reaching the top, and opening the door, he immediately noticed Din's distress by the way the Mandalorian stiffly stood staring down across the landscape outside the ship. That wasn't a good sign at all, and Luke started to feel that something was off, the feeling just a tickle at the back of his mind.

"They followed us and landed a few miles that way, " Din pointed towards the left, but Luke couldn't see a thing. But then again, there were boulders and mountains of rocks the size of their ship that were littered around the area, they could easily be docked behind one.

It was a shock to hear the sudden smash of Din's fist against the console, the Mandalorian letting out a grunt of frustration. Luke didn't blame him at all for feeling that way, once again their plans were interrupted.

"We're completely outgunned..." Din trailed off, helmet tilting towards Grogu who was completely oblivious to the situation. The child was still searching for the ball, that being his number one priority.

Luke moved towards Din, blocking his view of Grogu and using his hands to trace down the dips in the Mandalorian's mask. Once he reached the edge of the helmet, his hands lightly pushed upwards and slowly slid the helmet up until Din's lips were on display.

Luke leaned forward, kissing Din deeply. He had one hand pressed onto the side of the helmet, the other cupping Din's prickled chin. He could feel the Mandalorian sigh deeply into the kiss, all the anxiety leaking out of him.

Luke pulled away, just enough to slide the helmet back onto Din's face. He moved to press his forehead against the helmet next, staring into the visor.

"You doubt the strength of a Mandalorian, Jedi, and Padawan clan," Luke whispered with a hint of cheekiness to his tone.

He was completely right though, Din remembered his team-up with Ahsoka Tano and how they fought so effortlessly and ruthlessly. Now he had Luke who was a Jedi Knight, Grogu who has saved him countless times, and the Darksaber that hung along his utility belt.

They'd fight and send a message to whoever was attempting to kill them. No one fucks with the most powerful clan in the galaxy.

+

Slowly, droids filed out onto the rocky landscape. The sound of their metal feet hitting the ground was deafening. They stood the same, no emotion, no regret, no second thoughts. They were programmed to kill, and their target was The Mandalorian and Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker who both had something their master desperately wanted.

The first of the battalion stopped just a mile from the target ship. Then the second rank stopped behind them, and then the third. First was the standard battle droid, the second being the Droideka, and the third being the newest and most deadly, the Dark Troopers.

There was no intention to have a negotiation, that was clear. They all had had their hands settled on their guns, metal fingers hovered over their triggers. They stood like a sea of metal, waiting for a command.

But in the distance, the back of the target ship opened, revealing the Mandalorian. He waltzed down the ramp, holding no weapons as he stepped onto the rocky ground. It was as if he thought he was already going to win this battle, and if the droids could chuckle they would.

It was not intimidating, watching the Mandalorian walk towards them. His footsteps didn't shake the ground, there was no army behind him, it was comedic. Once he had gotten close enough to the front battalion of droids, he stopped, tilting his helmet in curiosity.

Nothing, the droids just looked in front of them. They barely acknowledged the Mandalorian, hands still on their guns, fingers still hovered over triggers. The Mandalorian was starting to get visibly irritated at the lack of communication, but before he could speak the droids suddenly parted, all three battalions taking one step to the side to part their sea of metal to reveal a droid similar to R2D2. This one was all black, it's metal shining and reflecting the light and even the Mandalorian's armour as it came closer.

It stopped abruptly once in front of the Mandalorian, it's dome head twisting from side to side as if it was scanning him. It was then that light flickered at the front of its face, blue hologram lights almost blinding the Mandalorian and causing him to jolt his arm up to block his visor.

He slowly dropped it back to his side as soon as he saw who appeared in front of him. There stood Moff Gideon, looking greyer and skinnier with wild wide eyes that glared towards him.

"Mandalorian, I have to admit, it's nice to see you again." Gideon's tone was kind, but the man was like a snake, he could easily snap at any second.

"Can't say the same," Din replied flatly. What a coward, the man wasn't even here for the fight.

Gideon chuckled, but his expression quickly turned sour. It was time to get down to business.

"I'm sure you're wondering how I got out from imprisonment. To be frank, I expected to rot in my cell, but it's surprising how sloppy your friend is." Gideon was talking about Cara, trying to rile him up. But the Mandalorian wasn't crumbling that easy.

"Turns out there are many other people who want you dead, and I've made some friends now because of you. It didn't take long for me to get troops to blast me out of my cell and escape." Din wondered if Moff Gideon was talking about Bo-Katan, but he refused to believe she was playing that dirty just to get her hands on the Darksaber. She hated Gideon just as much as he did.

"But I'm sure you can understand that I can't be here to watch you meet your fate," Gideon was frowning like a child, and Din wished he could wipe it off with a swipe of his Saber. Of course, that would be useless.

"I guess you'll just have to sit back and watch your battalion get slaughtered once again," Din replied, him still using a flat and irritated tone as if this battle was the biggest inconvenience to him. Which, it was.

"Oh! That reminds me...I want to thank your new Jedi friend, Luke Skywalker. He ripped through my precious Dark Troopers the last time we met, what a shame." There was a big but coming, and Din was already stiffening at his husband's name passing the war criminal's lips.

"But that helped me get better Astromech mechanics, they learned from the security cameras, watched Skywalker's every move and made these Dark Troopers you see in front of you even stronger." Din's hands tightened into fists at his sides, knowing Luke could hear everything through the transmitter he had on his arm.

"These were built to kill even the best of Jedi, and I'm excited to see your friend meet his fate just as much as you." Gideon smiled wickedly like a shark.

"Remember what I had said before I got captured...when I had the Darksaber hovering over your precious child?" Din didn't give the man the satisfaction of the answer, he just stood there and allowed his helmet to share his unimpressed attitude.

"Assume I know everything. I know that Luke Skywalker is hiding and waiting for your queue to come barging into my troops. I know that you have the Darksaber along your waistline. I know that the child is tucked away in your ship with only a droid to protect it." At that, Gideon's hologram fizzled out, revealing the pitch-black Empire droid once again.

It just beeped and whirred at him, rolling back around to roll through the parted sea of droids and climb the ramp of the rusty ship.

The droids just stood there once again, no emotion, no movement. Din knew the message was sent loud and clear, Gideon knew their plans, but didn't know how well-trained both him, Luke, and Grogu had become. There was still an element of surprise left, and that was the only thing Din could hold onto. The rest was doubt that ate at his thoughts, and he tried his best to push it back.

It wasn't at all slow, but it felt like everything was in slow-motion displayed for Din as he watched the first battalion of droids cock their guns and straighten out their arms. Before they could even shoot he had his Darksaber drawn, the first couple blasts ricocheting off the sword and hitting the first line of droids. But then they all pointed their guns at him, and Din could only duck and roll to dodge the heavy rainfall of blasts. Some hit and bounced off his armour, one skidding off the top of his helmet.

" _Jate'kara!"_ Din roared out the queue for his partner, and like lightning falling from the sky, Luke flew off the top of Moff Gideon's ship, mowing down a full line of Dark Troopers. They all collapsed, cut in half with an angry burn line left behind by his green Saber.

They were moving in with all they had, green and black laser swords soaring through the air, cutting down droids left and right. Luke was struggling way more than before, Gideon being true to his word when he said the Dark Troopers were re-wired to fight against the Jedi's movements. It was obvious that he would need a hand, becoming overwhelmed, but Din's hands were full with the last line from the first battalion, Darksaber becoming just a white streak in the air as he dragged it across droid after droid.

The Droideka battalion was now rolling into position, noticing they were next in line to be slaughtered. All their forcefields flashed to life as they shot with no mercy towards Din. A lot of the shots missed, but it just caused the rocks around him to fly up from the blast and rain down upon him. It caused his ears to ring when they pummelled down against his helmet, and he rolled out of the way from the rest of them.

But as he rolled, more shots came, and before he knew it his back was against Luke's, both turning with their backs still pressed together, Saber's drawn and flashing through the air to dodge more blasts.

It got too much, Din started to growl in frustration. His arms were growing weak and shaking as he constantly whipped them through the air to ricochet blasts off of it. The droids didn't have to worry at all about losing energy, they all just kept reloading ammunition and waited for the end.

Luke let out a yell, and Din had fallen to the ground at the sudden earthquake that shook the rocks below his feet. Luke had thrown his fist down into the dirt, using the Force to break through the rocks and soil underneath them. The ground parted, sending many droids falling with boulders toppling overtop of them.

Din had found his balance along one of the sides of the trench that Luke had made. Staying clear of the edge as he cut through more and more of the Droideka droids. Most had gotten caught off-guard by the break in the ground which caused their shields to fall.

But suddenly Din was looking up at the sky, being picked up by one of the Dark Troopers and then tossed harshly into the trench. Din had used his jet pack, flying back and taking advantage of the speed the jet pack gave him as he flew through the air and cut through the Dark Trooper that threw him, its head tumbling onto the ground, body crumbling into the trench.

Two more Dark Troopers circled him, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh, preparing for the pain that he knew was going to inevitably come for him. He remembers the one Dark Trooper he was against on Moff Gideon's ship, how it would've crushed his head into two if he didn't have his helmet on. These were faster and smarter now, and he wondered if his helmet would save him this time.

He forced himself to not think about Luke not wearing a helmet.

His hand went to start up his flamethrower, arm straightening and pointing before he dragged it from one Dark Trooper to the other, the smell of melting metal attacked Din's senses showing he had hit them but the fire didn't slow them down one bit.

Then came the whistling bird weapon on his other arm, he tucked his wrist in, activating the mini-missiles inside the beskar. With the second jerk of his wrist, the missiles flew out, whistling and spiralling through the air as they assaulted the two Dark Troopers.

That caused one of them to sizzle and crumble to the ground and the other to fall to one knee. But it didn't stop it enough, the Trooper simply keeping its arm extended as it shot another round of blasts towards Din. He dodged them skillfully, the Darksaber hitting every single one but the last, the final one, unfortunately, hitting the right side of Din's chest plate, sending him flying backwards.

His heels hit nothing, and he realized he was falling into the trench. But before he could deploy his jet pack again, his body had suddenly stopped tilting backwards. Din looked towards the other side of the pit, seeing Luke's gloved hand extended out towards him, keeping him upright and pushing him back onto the ground.

There was obviously no time for thanks, and Din clashed right back into the action as he attempted to hit the second Dark Trooper. It was dodging his blows, and Din couldn't help but notice the familiar shine of something along the Troopers wrists.

Beskar, pure beskar.

It looked like Gideon had noticed the power of Din's spear against the Saber and ordered that to be built into the Dark Troopers as well. The man was disgustingly smart.

But beskar was expensive and rare, and not all of the droid was covered in the metal. Din had quickly caught onto what was and wasn't wrapped in the beskar, targeting those areas and finally managing to cut through the droid.

"Mando!" Luke's voice cut sharply through the air, sounding distressed. Din whipped his head towards the battle on the other side of the trench. Luke looked like a mess, a large cut along his hairline and another sliced into his cheek. He was bleeding harshly from his nose, letting out a cry as a Dark Trooper threw him a few feet backwards.

Din activated his jet pack, rocketing through the air and flying into two more Dark Troopers with the Saber in his grip. They fell with their torso's cut away from their bodies.

But then Din was being punched so hard the helmet lifted slightly off his face, him falling so harshly into the ground his body left a dent into the rock. He moved just before the Dark Troopers' large mechanical fist came plunging into the ground, easily breaking the rock in half.

The wind was still knocked out of him, and he barely had time to clamber onto his feet before he was punched again and sent backwards right into Luke. They both tumbled to the ground, Luke groaning loudly under the weight of Din and his armour.

They were so close, but they were still outnumbered. All the easy droids were out of the way, but still, half the battalion of Dark Troopers stood.

"Din," Luke spoke as they scrambled back up onto their feet. They stood side by side, swords flashing in front of them as the Dark Troopers started to gather together in a group again. They were getting ready to re-attack, probably reloading their ammunition.

"We need to retreat," Luke growled out overtop of the stomping of the Troopers and the in-sync crackle of his and Din's Sabers.

"And go where?!" Din asked with a frustrated yell, they both had gotten a good look at the landscape while they plummeted into the ground. There were only rocks, water, and cliffs. There was nowhere to hide.

"Please, just trust me...we need to get back to the ship and grab Grogu. R2 will follow, he has jets underneath him to lift himself out of danger." Luke was backing up as he spoke, and all Din could do was blindly follow him with his eyes still glaring towards the Dark Troopers that were beginning to march forward.

"Luke..." Din trailed off, seeing them slowly start to lift their arms and cock their guns.

"You need to go into the ship and grab Grogu, I will hold them back. Once you have him give me a signal and let me run off the cliff first, be sure to follow me right after. Please, you need to trust me." Din couldn't help but turn his head towards Luke, baffled at the plan that was just suggested to him. This was the stupidest thing he's ever heard in his life.

"Off the cliff?!" Din let out a loud 'oomph' the air knocked out of him as a blast hit his chest plate once again, this time right in the middle. It sent him flying backwards and onto the ground. That made Luke refocus on the Dark Troopers, blocking their blasts to allow Din to compose himself again.

Din was beginning to feel lightheaded, he swore he had a concussion. But there was no time to show weakness, and all he could do was force the pain into the back of his head as he shakily got back up and swiped his sword through the air, ready for another fight.

"Trust me!" Luke yelled out, nodding his head towards the ship. Din breathed heavily with anxiety, not knowing if he should stay and keep his husband safe or do what the Jedi said. But he was apparently taking too long to decide because Luke angrily flicked his wrist towards him which sent him flying backwards.

He had to obey now, and he hated that the Jedi had used his powers on him. But there was no time to fight about it, Din rushing off towards the ship with a frustrated growl. He moved the Darksaber behind him, allowing it to block the blasts that attempted to hit at his back. It had successfully gotten him to the ramp of the ship, his legs striding up it until he was inside.

His heart sunk into his stomach, the scanner across his visor revealing the damage of what looked like a Dark Trooper. One of them must have slipped past them and went to capture Grogu.

"Grogu!" Din called, his breaths coming out in wheezes as if he was having a panic attack. There was no way the child was strong enough to fight off a Dark Trooper, and all he could do was brace for the carnage he would see when he reached the cockpit.

He practically fell into the cockpit once reaching it, and the sight before him was not at all what he expected but it still allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Grogu was alive and awake, but looking at him with dazed and tired eyes as his large ears hung across his face. Smoke covered the room, and in front of Grogu was the Dark Trooper, it's body mangled, twisted and almost unrecognizable on the floor.

"You..." Din was at a loss for words, cautiously stepping over the machine, defusing his Saber and placing it onto his belt before he shakily picked up Grogu. "You don't know how proud your papa will be when he hears this."

Grogu just purred, closing his eyes and snuggling into his armpit.

It was then that loud beeps echoed throughout the ship, the sound of a droid whirring and hissing frantically from the main cabin. R2.

Din rushed out of the cockpit, and it was just in time before the glass broke from blasts hitting it. That wasn't a good sign, that means they had gotten closer.

"R2 we need to go, use whatever juice you got to get yourself off that cliff once Luke goes first!" Din pointed to the cliff a few meters beside them, and the droid whirred and squealed at Din's words, obviously not happy with the command.

"Just do it!" He growled, his head ducking and barely missing a blast that fired towards him.

Luke was limping with his back towards him, the Jedi being able to cut down a few more of the droids. But they were still stronger, throwing Luke around and barely missing the Jedi. It was getting close, Luke couldn't hold his ground too much longer.

"Luke!" Din bellowed out as loud as he could, his voice so strong that it echoed off the rocks. Luke didn't freeze his movements with his Saber, but he did whip himself around and start sprinting to the cliff.

And Din watched with his heart in his gut as Luke jumped right off of it, disappearing.

Grogu wasn't at all impressed either, a small cry of grief leaving his tiny mouth. The child even tried to straighten his little arm out, attempting to use the Force to bring the Jedi back up onto the ground.

But it didn't work, and all Din could do was put his full trust into Luke's plan now.

He didn't allow any more thoughts to pierce through his mind, deciding to let everything go and just run. The blasts pelted against his armour and along R2, Din turning his body away from the gunfire to protect Grogu. Before he knew it, he was throwing himself off the side of the cliff, R2 right behind him and letting out a scream.

The rough waters below made Din's lungs feel like they were going up into his throat. He knew if he hit the water he would risk his helmet filling with water, but it was too late to take it off now. ' _This is how I die'_ he thought to himself as he curled himself into Grogu and closed his eyes.

But he never hit the water, there was no splash around him and water flooding his helmet until he suffocated. He wasn't struggling to crawl himself to the surface, there was no rush of coldness consuming him. It was just air, the wind hitting his helmet roughly and his cape flapping carelessly behind him.

He was levitating and so was R2D2, the droid beeping curiously as it floated upside down.

Then he was being dragged backwards, and Din was able to look over his shoulder to see Luke standing along a cave that was hidden along the side of the cliff. It was astonishing, and Din couldn't help but chuckle in amazement. Today was not the day he died.

But Luke looked rough and that was not surprising, his face was covered in blood and swollen, his whole body was vibrating as it tried to keep itself connected to the Force to place his clan members and droid safely on the cave floor.

It was as soon as Din's feet hit the ground that Luke collapsed, eyes rolling into the back of his head. Din had fallen to his knees, the adrenaline leaving him like a dame breaking opened. All that was left was the pain he felt, the way his head throbbed, how his muscles ached at the smallest movement.

And then everything went black. All he could remember was Grogu slipping from his grip and one last concerned beep coming from the droid before the rest of his body hit the ground.

+

One thing that Din first noticed when he opened his eyes was that he didn't have his helmet on, the second thing he noticed was that it was pitch dark out, the third was that he could barely move he was in so much pain.

"Don't m-move," Luke spoke, confirming Din's worries. The Mandalorian listened to the Jedi's words, his eyes blinking furiously to try to adjust to the darkness.

"Grogu?" Din asked, his voice sounding hoarse. It was painful to say his son's name, and his face wrinkled with a wince.

"He's o-okay...all his energy has been d-drained. He's very w-weak." Luke's teeth were chattering, and Din's eyes adjusted enough to notice that he could see his own breath. But he definitely wasn't as cold since he had a layer of underclothes and armour surrounding his body. Luke was a different story, with just his robe as his source of warmth.

"You're cold," he wheezed out, trying to move even though that was against Luke's wishes.

"Din," Luke's gloved hand slapped down onto his chest plate, and that was all Din could see through the darkness. "Don't. Move."

"You're going to die if you don't get warm, at least get near me so we can share body heat." Din raised a shaky hand to grab at Luke's that was still settled on his chest. The Jedi was silent among the darkness, but he heard a couple of grunts of pain and shuffles of a body against rock before Luke suddenly appeared beside him with Grogu cradled in his other arm, the blonde cuddled close and pressed his cheek to Din's.

The shock of how cold Luke's skin was against Din made his body shiver from head to toe. God, why couldn't R2 have a heater built into him?

"We aren't gonna survive the night," Din hated to bring negativity into the situation since they already had their fair share of it, but he couldn't help it. It seemed they were always so close to being safe and then all of that positivity gets ripped away from them.

"I-I can't make a fire, I don't want to risk it if they're st-still patrolling." Luke didn't have to explain himself, Din understood they couldn't have any light source in the cave without risking that blowing their cover. It was either they stayed draped in complete darkness or risked getting trapped inside the cave as gunfire ripped through them.

Din also didn't want to think about how Luke didn't try to nag him for thinking so negatively about them not surviving.

They laid there in silence, the only sound being both their wheezing. R2 had turned himself off so he didn't risk getting them caught with its lights, and Grogu was softly snoring away between their chests.

Then a thought came to Din's mind, it was something that his old self would shun him for. His helmet, it was warm, something that had insulation around it to protect him in colder climates. Nothing could pass through the pure beskar.

"Where's my helmet?" Din blurted out, his voice made Luke jump, the Jedi probably getting close to passing out again. Din couldn't see with how dark it was, but he still lifted his head to look.

"It-it's beside your head with your jet pack, on the other side of you." Luke's lips were right at Din's ear, ice-cold and shaking against his lobe. Din groaned loudly as he moved one shaky arm out to grab at his helmet. His armour weighed him down more than ever, and all he could do was drag the helmet over to him and onto his chest.

"R2 t-took your helmet off to get to your head in-injury. Keep it off." Luke coughed loudly after his little speech, it sounding raw and dry.

"I don't need to wear it, you do." Din shakily pushed the helmet so it rested on Luke's stomach. The metal along it was probably super cold and it caused Luke to flinch. He could feel Luke shaking his head beside him.

"I haven't s-sworn to the creed yet. D-don't disrespect your creed to save my life." Luke sounded awake, his words starting to slur. It scared Din to his core, and he forced himself up into a sitting position and used the last of his strength with a long groan.

"Din," Luke was a lot more visible now, Din's eyes now adjusted a little better. The Jedi still had dried blood across his face, his lips blue and hair stuck to his forehead. He looked like death itself, and Din's creed suddenly didn't matter anymore.

"My swear into the creed never gave me what you did, I will give you my helmet a thousand times more before I laid it down to simply respect it. Please Luke, _please."_ Din was begging desperately at the end, and he hasn't been this close to tears since he watched Grogu leave him in Luke's arms on Moff Gideon's ship.

Luke didn't speak, and the pause after Din's words was enough for Din to grip at his helmet and shakily move it towards Luke's head. It took everything in him not to collapse on top of the Jedi and he focused only on Luke's face as a distraction, watching as it slowly disappeared behind his helmet.

Now Din was staring at his reflection across his helmet, and he watched himself smile when Luke had let out a sigh of relief once the unforgiving wind stopped hitting his face.

It was weird to see Luke in his helmet, and the thought distracted him from the pain and cold that tried to consume him. Instead of him hating the look of it because Luke was not sworn to the Mandalorian creed, he felt the extreme desire to get Luke his own armour even more. The Jedi looked good in the helmet, and after this near-death experience, he wasn't at all going to allow the Jedi to step foot onto another planet without armour around at least one part of him.

After the thought passed, he collapsed back onto the ground. He could now hear Luke's breathing even out, a sign that the Jedi was now asleep. That gave Din enough sanity to attempt to sleep as well, his hands pulling his cape from behind him to wrap around his head like a headscarf to protect it from the icy wind.

It wasn't long for him to doze off to sleep as well, body shuffling ever-so closer to his clan.

+

Waking up again was less stressful compared to the last time. The excruciating pain Din had felt was now a dull ache, and he felt way more energized. It was a slight surprise for him when he looked to his side to see his own helmet staring right back at him. But quickly he remembered what had to be done last night. The memory was already fuzzy, his headache still tight across his head, but he vaguely pictured himself placing the helmet onto Luke's head with no hesitation.

And he'd do it again.

Din slowly began to realize that he was the only one awake. R2 was still shut down a few feet away from them, frost shining across the part of the droid that was facing the opening of the cave. Luke wasn't moving, but Din could see his chest settle at an even up and down pace to show he was asleep. Lastly was their son, Grogu had skillfully slipped into Luke's robe and fell asleep against the Jedi's chest for extra warmth. He just hoped Grogu didn't cause Luke to become even colder.

Din focused on the crashing sound of the waves next, they were all huddled as far back into the cave as they could be, and it was a good thing. Din could see that whenever a wave hit the cliff and the rocks below, a cloud of cold mist came raining down into the entrance of the cave. The rocks along the edge of the cave were slick and shiny from the water, it made Din shiver just looking at it. God, did he ever need a fire and a warm bath. He never thought he would say he missed the Tatooine heat.

The urge to investigate was strong now, even though he wasn't completely back to his normal self, he could still walk. That was all he needed to get to the edge of the cave to scope out what they now had to escape from.

Escape. As if they could even do that, their ship was a piece of wreckage now, impossible to repair with just the tools he had and that was if the Dark Troopers hadn't completely blow up the ship while they had disappeared.

Taking in a deep breath, he exhaled with a groan as he lifted himself up and off the ground, a gloved hand pressed against the rock wall to hold himself up. His knees knocked together, armour feeling like it weighed a hundred pounds more than it used to, but he composed himself and made his way over to the mouth of the cave.

There was still a large drop to the water below once Din had leaned over to look. The water crashed and foamed, bleeding back into the dark waters from the rocks. If he was in his ship soaring by he would've recalled what he was looking at as beautiful, but right now this was too close for comfort, and it was terrifying.

It was too loud to hear if the Dark Troopers were still up top, or if any living thing was near them. All Din could do was lean against the rock at a safe distance from the spray of the waves as he tried to come up with a plan. There was so much risk to everything, and Din refused to have any Force powers involved. Luke was healing slowly, and that was obvious from how he almost died in the night, and Grogu still hadn't woken up from yesterday's encounter with just one of the Dark Troopers. They couldn't risk draining anymore of their energy. It was up to Din now.

But there was the risk of the jet pack getting sprayed by the waves, it could defuse the jets and send him spiralling into the rough waters below. Then there was his fibercord whip, he could use the grappling hook along the end of it to snare onto the edge of the cliff above them, but he was not at full strength, there was no way he could pull anyone else up but himself and just that was risky.

He sighed deeply, but as if his prayers were being answered, a large ship broke the atmosphere, it flying slowly towards the land they were trapped on. Din couldn't recognize it with how far it was from view, so for safety, he crouched low and watched curiously.

The ship crept closer and closer, the sound of its engines shaking the ground beneath him and already disturbing the waves even more. He squinted, straining his vision to see the symbol along the side of it.

It was a New Republic ship, and his mind immediately wandered to when he had pressed the location beacon on his ship that Cara had specifically installed for this situation. Din couldn't help but praise his fast-thinking to hit the button as they rocketed to the ground of this planet. If he wouldn't have done it in time, they'd be stuck here for who knows how long.

He straightened his arm out, pressing on his flamethrower as the ship got close enough to see him. The flames shot out, it being able to go for at least a few seconds before being burnt out by the waves harsh mist. But it was enough, the ship starting to hover in place before lowering itself down close to the cave.

"Din?" His head snapped back, and there was Luke, awake, looking way better than before, with his helmet hugged into his armpit and the other arm holding Grogu in place where the child still laid snug in his robe. The Jedi blinked towards him, wincing at the rough wind that followed with the ship. The sound of the ship must have awoken him, and slowly he could see R2 and Grogu start to wake up as well.

"A New Republic ship, it's okay." He assured as he rushed beside Luke and Grogu, hands grabbing at his helmet to place it on his head, then snatching his jet pack to lock it onto his back. His voice had to strain to speak over the engine of the ship and the clash of the waves against the rocks.

Their surroundings were beginning to get more hectic, the ship's engines being way too strong to be in this situation. The waves were now crashing into the cave, the highest they've ever been, and the wind was so strong that Din had to dig his heels into the ground when he tried to stand back up. R2 whirred with anxiety, a grappling hook firing out of the droid to dig onto the side of the cave for stability.

Slowly the ramp of the ship became level with the mouth of the cave, and Din watched with his eyes hidden behind his arms for protection as the ramp slowly opened to reveal Cara Dune and Greef Karga standing before him.

They looked deeply concerned, eyes darting from Din to Luke to the child and the droid, they were armed with guns as they shuffled as far as they could down the ramp.

"You're gonna have to jump, we can't get any closer, but we've got you!" Cara yelled over the blaring of the ship and the rough waters, she reached her arm out as much as she could, hand outstretched for him to grab onto.

But Din told himself he'd be the last one on that ship, his hands moving to help Luke up with Grogu in his embrace. He lightly pushed the Jedi towards Cara and Greef's awaiting hands, urging him that they were okay and safe with these people. Luke wasn't protesting, only giving him one worried look over his shoulder before he leaped and allowed them to pull him and the child in and onto the ship.

It was the droid next, and R2 didn't need their help as it used its jets and rocketed itself onto the ramp. It was now his turn, and he took a deep breath and grunted as he took a long stride onto the ramp, Cara and Greef grabbing him by his arms and shoulders to hoist him off the ramp and into the main part of the ship.

The warmth was overwhelming once the ramp closed, and he couldn't help but sigh with relief when the ramp sealed shut and the heat enveloped him. Luke was in pure bliss as well, the Jedi slumping down onto one of the benches to close his eyes and enjoy the feeling they had yearned for so desperately. They were safe and warm, that was all they could ever ask for.

"What in the gods are you all doing here!?" Cara asked, someone else must've been with them to pilot the ship because it moved upwards as she spoke.

"It's a long story," Din replied with a huff, he wasn't up for explaining his situation right now, and all he could do was look out the window of the ship to stare at the landscape they once had a battle on.

It definitely looked like a battlefield now, dark smoke appearing in multiple parts of the land where droids once stood, the trench was larger than Din had thought, cutting into the landscape with broken droids collapsed inside of it. Their ship was in a condition that Din thought it would be in, burned to a pile of rubble by the remaining Dark Troopers.

But the Empire ship was gone, no sign of it shown throughout the planet as Din got farther and farther away. The last of the Dark Troopers must have retreated, but he was curious as to why. He thought they were built to kill, did they assume they had all jumped off the cliff in suicide? Not likely.

It was troubling, but he didn't think too hard about it. Right now he needed to rest.

"We need to talk about this sooner rather than later, Mando," Cara mumbled, leaning down to look intensely through his visor. Din gave her a curt nod, understanding. He was more than thankful they had come to save him, it not being the first time he was in trouble and they had rescued him. He owed them a lot.

+

It was a longer trip back to Nevarro than it usually would be, only because they didn't want to take the same route they came from just in case they were followed or their pattern was being tracked.

Din and Luke had laid themselves down on two cots in a small room along the side of the ship, Grogu had his own little bed to sleep in at their feet, and R2 was turned off again in the main compartment of the ship.

They had pushed their cots together so that they were closer, and now the door to their room was closed and all they had was each other with a barely awake young Padawan at their feet. Din had slipped off his helmet once they were in privacy, and he laid down along his side facing Luke, the Jedi doing the same to him.

Din could still see the scars along Luke's face, some that didn't completely heal from his past battles, and some that were fresh from yesterday. There was colour back to his complexion, pinkness in his lips, but his eyes still shared pain inside them, ringed with dark circles from probably a horrible sleep.

Din didn't look any better, his face was of course spared in the damage, but he could feel the bruises that littered his body, especially along his chest. There would be scars too.

But he didn't mind that they were going to leave with remnants and reminders from the battle they had fought. It was the first one they had done together, the first one where Din had used his Darksaber, and of course one that they came out surviving together. The scars told a story of love and determination, what someone will do for their family and clan member.

"You're thinking too much," Luke whispered, refocusing Din's attention. The Mandalorian was just dozing off as he stared at Luke's face, he hadn't even realized he was staring creepily. Then again, he hasn't really gotten used to not having a mask to hide his expressions.

Din just smiled, breathing out a short laugh before he slowly took off his glove, ghosting the back of his bare hand against Luke's cheek. There was a scratch that he was following, and once he got to the end of it where it stopped at Luke's ear, Luke had moved his own bare hand to hold Din's.

Luke guided Din's hand to his lips, them softly kissing each knuckle before Din opened his hand and allowed Luke to kiss each fingertip. Once Luke's lips had traced every part of his hand, Din moved his thumb to hook onto the Jedi's bottom lip, caressing it delicately.

"I'm only thinking about you and our son," Din mumbled with soft eyes as he flickered his gaze from Luke's lips to the blue eyes that twinkled back at him.

"Well stop living in your head," Luke got up and was now moving to straddle Din's waist. He leaned down once his bum was sat across Din's hips, breath hot against Din's lips. "When I'm right in front of you," Luke was being a tease, not allowing his lips to connect with Din's awaiting ones after he spoke. He kept a distance, but he was still so close that Din could see every freckle and mole across his face.

Din chased his lips, Luke lightly leaning back so the Mandalorian was unsuccessful. It made Din flop his head back against the cot with a huff. What was this man doing to him? He never thought he would be crumbling under a Jedi.

Luke just chuckled at his defeat, eyes doing that sparkly thing that sent Din's heart into backflips. Din remembers when he didn't understand that feeling, when he got scared of it and ran away to Nevarro as if distance would protect him. But no matter how far he went his love for Luke followed, and now as he watches his husband's eyes glisten in front of him, he remembers that love is never a bad thing, love is never a scary thing.

Luke finally leaned forward, lips moving deeply against Din's. Din's hands roamed down the Jedi's skinny waist and locked onto Luke's hips, squeezing gently.

They both noticed how the kiss got more heated, how tongues slipped together, how their breathing grew heavier. But they couldn't, Grogu was with them, this wasn't that safe of a place to do such an intimate thing. Although once they started they couldn't get the dirty thoughts out of one another's minds, the hunger for more was consuming them.

"I'm ready to do this again when we get to Nevarro...please." Din knew exactly what Luke was talking about of course, and the Mandalorian pulled away from their kiss to move his hands and press them both across Luke's cheeks. The Jedi's mouth was already swollen and slick with spit, eyes hooded and starving.

They hadn't done it properly since their first night in Mos Pelgo. Sure, there were times where they had tried, but Luke still got too overwhelmed. The Jedi was a mess underneath Din, to the point where their bed would be floating above the ground as soon as Din got his first couple thrusts into Luke. They would have to succumb to simple four-play, that being the only thing that didn't cause their whole room to levitate.

And Din wasn't so sure this time would be any different, but Din wasn't going to turn down his husband. He wanted it just as much, but it concerned him when he watched Luke, a strong Jedi who knew control more than anyone he knew, lose it all to Din's touch.

He should be flattered, really.

"Okay, alright," Din assured, pulling Luke down to kiss him softly one last time before Luke slipped off his hips and cuddled beside him. They were silent now, just the sound of Grogu's snores and the slight rumble of the ship's engines being heard throughout the room.

"Do you think we will have some peace when we get to Nevarro?" Luke asked, his gloved hand tracing itself down Din's breastplate. Din pondered as he watched Luke's hand map out the metal along his chest, the glove catching his attention. He never really asked his husband to take it off before, thinking it was simply something he kept on for protection because of what happened.

"Peace? No, not fully...I'd call it the calm before the storm." Din moved his gaze from Luke's hand to the ceiling above them, squinting up at it as if it would give him eyes to look into the future.

Luke sighed, understanding. "And we'll get through it all, together."

Din nodded silently, his hand blindly reaching out to grasp at Luke's gloved one. He pressed down upon it, feeling how where bones were supposed to be, metal would grind. The knuckles were too sharp, the fingers felt like rods. It caused him to turn to look at Luke once again, gazing into the blonde's eyes for a beat of silence.

"Can I see your hand?" Din asked as carefully as possible, thumb rubbing along the back of Luke's hand in comfort. If the Jedi said no he would leave it at that, but he was surprised to see Luke just blink at him and slowly nod.

"Are you sure?" Din asked, still refusing to take off the glove. He wanted to be as hesitant as Luke was with his helmet.

Luke didn't speak but just showed with his actions as he took his other hand and pulled off the black leather glove. The hand looked like...a hand. There were slight differences, of course, the way the synthetic skin shined differently in the light compared to the real skin. How the hand had no redness or pink colour to it that showed it was alive and pumping blood, there were no lines that showed fingerprints along the pads of his fingers.

And what Din noticed the most, was the jagged lines that showed where the hand must have been cut off, looking like little red lightning bolts as they webbed down part of Luke's wrist. It pained Din to see it, and he almost got mad at himself that he wasn't there to protect the Jedi.

They didn't know each other back then, of course. He couldn't dwell on the past and how it was so ruthless to Luke. The Jedi was now with him, and Din wouldn't let anything happen to Luke ever again.

So, Din showed his affection by mirroring what Luke had done just moments ago with his own hand. He kissed at the knuckles, then at each fingertip. Luke just laid there and watched, eyes swimming with tears.

" _Jate'kara,"_ Din whispered like a prayer. All Luke could do was give the Mandalorian a shaky smile.

+

Once landed, Cara had immediately taken them to the medical centre to get properly checked out. Of course Luke and Din had refused, but when Cara had brought up that Grogu would need to be looked over as well, they couldn't disagree. Grogu had been sleeping a lot more than he usually did, the child probably still drained of energy from the brawl he had in the cockpit. It was only safe.

And the medical centre became both their worst enemy since the doctors separated them and sent them into different rooms. Din had stood his ground, digging his heels into the floor as a nurse droid attempted to push him back to a room. But Luke had met his eyes as he was also guided towards another room, the blonde smiling at him in reassurance.

That gave Din enough sanity for the hour that he was stuck being looked over by doctors. He had to explain why he couldn't take his helmet off three times, and all three times he got a frustrated eye-roll or rude set of beeps.

It didn't matter, he was already fantasizing about sleeping in a proper bed tonight, without worrying about being shot down by an Empire ship or having to duel with a Mandalorian who desperately wanted what he won fair and square.

Maybe tonight he could take a breath with his son safe and asleep in his own little cot, his husband beside him in their own room tucked away from the world. He didn't forget what Luke had requested once they got to Nevarro, and Din was getting antsy just thinking about it.

When finally released, he let out a breath of relief when he had come into the lobby of the medical centre to see Luke. But he stumbled in his step when he saw the Jedi standing with no Grogu in his arms. Cara was beside Luke, both not talking, and Din noticed Cara had a look in her eye that he recognized as her being nervous.

"Grogu?" He asked bluntly, switching his gaze between Luke and Cara. Not seeing the child in front of him for over an hour was enough, he needed to know if his son was okay.

"I just saw him, they're keeping him here to help him regain his energy. The Dark Trooper must have taken everything out of him." Din looked down at the ground sadly, hands tightening to fists at his sides. No, he didn't want Grogu to stay here any longer. The child was safer with him in any situation.

"Mandalorian, " Din looked up at Luke's voice speaking to him, it was still strange to hear his other name coming from the Jedi's lips, he liked Din better but only when Luke said it.

"He will be okay, I made R2D2 stay with him. Nothing will happen." Luke gave him that look that made Din immediately relax, he knew they could trust R2 with any of their lives.

"I can send some guards here to look over the medical centre," Cara added as they started to walk towards the exit. Luke had turned his fond smile towards her.

"Thank you Cara Dune, that would be appreciated." Cara just nodded awkwardly, not meeting the Jedi's gaze.

"I can show you both to your separate rooms, they'll be close to my home and the medical centre," Din could see the way Luke had stuttered his movements as they made their way out of the centre, and Din also got caught off-guard with her words.

Din really, _really_ needs to talk with Cara. Separate rooms wouldn't do, and how was he going to lie himself out of this one?

"We're okay, I've already got us scheduled into one of the motels down the street from your house." Din was impressed with how fast he recovered, but he was really starting to hate lying to his friends all about his life. Cara deserved to know, but at the start Din didn't understand a lot of what was happening anyway. Still, Din was searching through his own feelings and trying to figure his life out. He knew only one thing for certain, and that was that he was in love with Luke Skywalker and would protect the Jedi and his son with his life.

Cara just gave him a raised brow, she looked like she was chewing along the inside of her cheek in thought as she flickered her gaze to both Luke and Din. She was holding back speaking out.

"Alright...it would be safer to be somewhere I know where you are, but I guess you can just tell me your room numbers." They had started moving again, and the silence between them all was mixed with awkwardness and unsaid words. All of them were holding back something to say, but they wouldn't dare speak along the public streets.

But Cara did finally muster up the courage once they had stopped in front of the motel. The place looked awful and the only reason Din had said they were going there was because he had spotted it while walking the streets during his last trip to Nevarro. The place was rusted and shaped like one large half-circle with rooms among it. In the middle near the front was the pay station, and a fat grubby-looking creature was occupying it and reading a newspaper that looked extremely outdated.

But he couldn't turn back now, and all he could do was exchange a look with Luke that was less than impressed before he took a step towards the pay station.

"Going so soon?" Din stopped in his tracks, turning towards Cara who stood with her arms crossed and face flat after she spoke. Din knew he couldn't drag this out any longer, she deserved to know.

"Take these, get a room, I'll meet you there." Din had whispered into Luke's ear, leaning into the Jedi and sneakily stuffing credits into Luke's robe. He received a nod from him and Din nodded back before giving Cara his full attention.

She looked like she was ready to jump him and tear off his limbs, there was anger now boiling at the top of her facial expression. This had gone on for too long, she was done being left in the dark.

Din just simply grabbed her by the elbow, lightly guiding her towards her home that was close like he thought. Cara quickly caught onto his actions and eagerly opened her front door, allowing him in.

"What the hell was all that?!" She immediately roared when the door was shut. Din had collapsed on one of the chairs along her kitchen table, breathing out a long sigh. This wasn't going to be as quick as he wished it to be, there was too much to explain and apologize for.

"Luke and I are being targeted by several different groups and people, most that you know of-"

"No," Cara interrupted him before he could explain any longer, and Din cocked his head in curiosity. What did she mean, ' _no?'_

" _No,"_ she said again, moving to sit across from him, her body leaning against the table, "I know you Mando, I know how you act around people you've been around for a long time, and I know how you act around strangers..."

Cara trailed off, choosing her words wisely. Din was tense across his seat.

"And with this Skywalker dude...you're a different man." Her eyes hardened as she finally said the words she needed to say, and now Din felt like he had swallowed his tongue.

"We..." Now he was the one that had to choose his words wisely. He knew Cara, but she didn't care about Luke or what happened to him, he couldn't just tell her everything about him and risk his identity leaking out into the public. Even though Cara was a friend, he still felt nervous.

"We are a clan of three, now," those were all the words needed to describe the whole situation. Cara's expression had softened immediately, mouth dropping in surprise the slightest bit. He didn't blame her, just a few months ago he didn't see this coming either.

"Three?" Her voice sounded out of breath, and Din couldn't help but chuckle as he nodded.

"You and him are...isn't that?" He knew what she was going to say, and Din never really had to face the topic yet. He knew both him and Din had similar rules across their Order and Creed that relationships and feelings were frowned upon or even forbidden. Din could have a relationship, but with a Jedi? That was shameful. In Luke's case, he was considered only a warrior, and feelings would only seduce him towards the Dark Side.

But with Luke's new Order and with all the new things that Din has learned by meeting his own kind, they knew if their feelings were that strong towards each other, they couldn't suffocate and ignore that simply to follow age-old rules. In the end, the feelings made them stronger warriors.

"Things are changing across the Mandalorian Creed, as well as in the Jedi Order. Our feelings, they were something unimaginably strong." Din paused, staring down at the table because he couldn't find the courage to look her in the eyes to confess this next part.

"That's why I was here a few months ago, when I had said that people were after me because of the Darksaber...they weren't. I was running from my feelings. Luke and I, we had a connection that scared the life out of both of us. Scared me enough to run off to another planet thinking that I just needed a break."

Cara was nodding along to his words, and Din was surprised her expression didn't soar when he had told her the truth about why he had shown up in Nevarro. But by how much she had doubted him last time, he wouldn't be surprised if she already knew something was up.

"So you're together?" She asked after a beat of silence with her just absorbing all the information.

Din cleared his throat, "married."

"Son of a mudscuffer..." Cara didn't sound at all angry, more completely and utterly amused as she sneered across the table at him.

"Mando, you never fail to surprise me. You leave for just a few months and you come back married to a Jedi with Moff Gideon back on your trail."

Din and her shared a laugh, the mood immediately lightening up. It felt like a boulder had been lifted off Din's chest. So much he had smothered away into his secrets, and now at least there was someone he could spill his guts to.

"And now you're fighting this war together, how romantic." She said fondly, and Din couldn't help but agree.

After that confession, it was as if the flood gates had been released for both Cara and Din. They spoke about Gideon and how the snake had made some ally's across the galaxy and found a way to slip through the security. There was then the discussion on Bo-Katan and how she had turned on Din to get her hands on the Darksaber. Din told Cara about their haven in Mos Pelgo, how they were content there until Bo-Katan and her goons showed up to assassinate him but only ended up pissing off a whole town and injuring Luke.

He also couldn't help but tell her about his wishes to get Luke armour of his own, how the Amourer was hidden somewhere in Nevarro.

Then there was the battle on the planet that Din now knew, with help from Cara, to be Zeffo. How they had been found through space while escaping Mos Pelgo, how they were caught in a trap and couldn't do anything to save the ship Cara had loaned to him once the guns appeared.

And Cara had listened to it with the same slightly troubled expression, how she just stared at him with her arms crossed, listening to every word he spoke. She was always a good listener, and he knew she heard everything he spoke of.

"And now you're here, "

"And now I'm here, " he confirmed her words, nodding his head. Din had to lean back and take a breath. When imagining this conversation, so many scenarios had gone through his head. Din had pictured his friend storming out and abandoning him, imagined her screaming her head off at him for being so stupid and lovestruck. But the one that became true overall was Cara being the same friend she had always been. Here for him, prepared to fight by his side.

"Moff Gideon will keep looking for you, he won't stop. And from what I've seen with my own eyes, Bo-Katan won't either." Cara was right, they won't stop. The best part was that Din still had enemies he knew were waiting in the shadows for the best moment to strike, this was just the tip of the iceberg.

"We are planning to travel of Sorgan as soon as possible, to lay low. I know you don't want this town in the middle of all this." Cara chewed at her lip in thought, but Din had to put that out into the air. He refused to put another town full of innocent citizens in the crossfire, he couldn't risk it.

"But you can't fight Gideon alone...I know Bo-Katan is another story but Gideon is ruthless and it won't take long for him to find you again."

"He's in hiding, he was a hologram in front of me when he told me I was going to die." Cara didn't know that, but she seemed to nod, not surprised.

"He will be laying low for a while, I've got every damned Imperial ship that was docked at his prison looking for him." She was spitting out her words near the end, obviously heated that the war criminal was able to get away in her own prison.

"That means it will take him longer than he would like to find me. Even though he's out of prison he's still got his hands tied." That was the truth, and it was the only thing that eased both of their minds.

"And that means you don't need to rush to get yourself into safety, you're both still weak and injured and need time to heal."

"Cara-"

"I'll handle the town, please Mando, don't worry about it." There was a pause, both of them just staring at one another silently.

"And I guess I'll lend you another ship." Cara finished with a grin, and Din was thankful she couldn't see his blush.

But after Cara had insisted he stayed, that was that. Din couldn't bicker back and forth with her, knowing his friend would win. Deep down past the anxiety about causing more harm than good, Din had to admit he wanted to stay just at least for another day. The battle upon Zeffo was hard-hitting and left the whole Clan in shambles, they needed time to rebuild.

Din had left afterwards, hugging Cara before making his way back to the rotting hotel. The alien creature was still slumped in its seat at the pay station, and Din walked up hesitantly.

"I'm under the name Djarin." He spoke, startling the creature and making him almost fall off his stool. It glared at him, mumbling off another language before checking the stained notebook settled on its desk.

"Room 126." It gurgled at him, and Din didn't bother to say thanks as he walked away with the room already found.

He didn't hear anything while coming towards the door, and he was surprised and unimpressed when he easily opened the door. Luke hadn't locked it.

The shower was on, the soft splatter of the water against the tile echoed along the walls. Din could see Luke's clothing disrobed at the foot of the bed, and he couldn't help but smile as he moved his hands to his helmet and took it off, right after he locked the door of course.

The air against his bare skin was refreshing, the days sweat caked and sticking to his face. He did need a shower, and there was no better time to have one than now.

The water grew louder and louder, still, no sound from Luke as he made his way to the room, discarding armour and clothing as he went. His cape was the last to hit the floor right outside the bathroom door, and Din slowly opened it and welcomed the steam that brushed across his body.

The curtain was drawn closed, all Din could see was the silhouette of Luke's thin naked body. Din's mouth couldn't help but water, enjoying the view.

He moved like he was on eggshells, hand grabbing for the curtain and delicately opening it so he could slip inside. Luke didn't even flinch when his arms wrapped around the Jedi's middle, Din's chin hooking itself across his shoulder.

"You knew it was me, " Din mumbled, kissing at Luke's wet and tanned shoulder.

"I could feel you coming, " Luke said softly, turning in the Mandalorian's grip to wrap his arms around Din's neck.

They just stared at one another, no words needing to be spoken. Din had once said he couldn't explain the feelings that Luke had made him feel, but now he officially thinks he can.

Euphoric, like watching the stars pass through the window of a ship. Mysterious, like stepping upon a new planet. Happy like he was when his parents were alive. Constant like his own breath.

Din moved his hands from Luke's waist to press along the Jedi's cheeks, thumbs pushing along the bridge of his nose and under his eyes. He looked at Luke as if it was his first time falling in love all over again, and Luke did the same.

"You felt me coming, so you didn't lock the door?" Din asked in a playful tone, moving his hands down from Luke's cheeks to his throat and then down past his shoulders to hold his biceps.

"I don't feel threatened here, your friend has this town under control. It's peaceful." Din couldn't help but agree with his husband, Cara has been able to keep the town at peace ever since they took out the remnants from the Empire that had leaked into the territory.

"We'll stay for one more day. Get stronger, be at our best before we leave to Sorgan." Luke nodded as he focused on cleaning, Din allowing him to clean his body as well.

They were both surprised at how long they lasted before the kissing started, and then they were unstoppable. Din had his hands cupping Luke's ass, kneading at it and basking in the string of moans that Luke let out. It was time to get out before they slipped, and Din had given the Jedi that hint as he reached to turn off the shower and open the curtain.

They didn't bother to dry off, Din guiding Luke backwards out of the bathroom and onto the bed. Their hands roamed amongst each other's skin, mapping out every dip and edge. At this point, they were both achingly hard, and Din parted their heated kiss to pant into Luke's face.

"How are we going to do this?" Din huffed out, one hand going down to rub at Luke's hole as he spoke. He smiled cheekily when Luke attempted to answer him but only a moan came out from his lips.

"I-I need control." Luke blinked up at the ceiling, each hand gripping Din's biceps tightly, his legs spreading so his knees hit the mattress.

"You need to tell me how before I do anything," Din leaned down to kiss at Luke's nose, then down his chest and licking at a nipple. Luke moaned louder.

"I-I don't, " but then he stopped, and before Din could ask what was wrong he was suddenly flipped over with a whoosh from the Force as Luke simply flicked a hand upwards. Din was now the one staring up at the ceiling, and he blinked up at it in shock.

Luke was now in his vision, the blonde straddling his hips and making both of them groan when he arched his back and allowed Din's dick to rub between his cheeks and against his hole.

"M'on top." Luke whimpered out, tugging twice at his own dick before taking Din's hand and moving it up to suck at the man's digits.

Din was in heaven, he swore he had to be. The image in front of him was too good to be real, the way Luke was sucking at his pointer finger and staring down at him with soaking wet hair that dripped down onto Din's pecks, his eyes hooded and blinking down at him, asking to be fucked.

The image was short-lived though, and Din could only shove it into his erotic memories for later as he allowed Luke to guide his hand to his hole. Din greedily shimmied a finger into it, Luke immediately crumbling and collapsing on top of him. He kissed at the wet bangs on the Jedi's forehead, moaning with Luke as he pumped his fingers into him.

He moved to two, then to three until Luke was practically withering on top of him. The Jedi had his back arched high, trying to chase the feeling of being filled, their dicks were rubbing deliciously against one another, and it made sparks dance across Din's vision.

Din moved one hand to Luke's hips, tightening his grip to keep the Jedi leaned over him as he used the other to slip himself into the blonde. It was a slow process, and they were both breathing heavily against each other's lips. Luke's mouth opened widely, his hands pushing himself up and pressing themselves down across Din's chest. Din liked the pressure of being held down, and it made his dick twitch happily inside his husband.

"M'gonna ride you, space cowboy." Luke sneered, something that made Din's eyes widen and mouth fall open as Luke started to roll his hips. It was a feeling that caused Din's hands to fall from their grip on Luke's hips to just curling into the sheets beside his head. He usually had an answer to Luke's words, but the Jedi had taken all of it right out of his mouth. He was powerless and starving for touch.

Luke started to pick up his pace, ass slapping down hard down across Din's hips, starting up a pattern as he went up and down and then ground down hard to regain the strength on his thighs. Din was getting close, and he had grabbed Luke's hips and started to sit up.

But Luke had shoved his hand right back down on his chest, the slightest bit of his Force powers being used to add that extra bit of strength and make Din's back jump lightly against the mattress.

"Look at you, " Din growled out, purely impressed with the man on top of him. They weren't laid out amongst levitating household items, their bed wasn't hovering off the floor, Din's armour wasn't orbiting around Luke's head. Luke had control.

The Jedi could only answer to the praise with a moan, and he allowed Din to move his hands to cup at his ass and get Luke just as much deeper.

They couldn't tell what was sweat and what was water, the shower probably useless after they were done with one another. But that was an afterthought as they moulded lips once again and moaned into one another mouths, Din now hugging Luke to his chest so he could slam up into him.

" _Gods_...Din, "

"I know, I feel it too, " Din quickly answered Luke's whine, both chasing their climax until they were moaning the loudest they ever had with each other's names spilling from one another's mouths.

They just laid there, attempting to come down from the high of their lives. Their chests heaved together, and slowly Din slipped out of the Jedi and shifted them so they were on their sides. Luke had a leg hooked around his waist, trying to get impossibly closer to Din.

"You amaze me every single day, Jedi." Din laughed out, brushing away Luke's bangs to see more of his face and the sparkle in his eyes.

Luke was already falling asleep, dozing on and off as he cupped Din's cheek.

"I love you...so much," Luke replied, his voice barely above a whisper as his eyes drooped closed once again until he was lightly snoring.

" _Jate'kara, "_ Din whispered back.

And even in his sleep, Luke smiled.

+

They were true to their decision and had stayed another day in the town. Grogu was awake and wasn't impressed when Din and Luke had come into the medical centre. The child looked to have missed them desperately, but they made it up to him by giving him cookies they had gotten from one of the vendors on the street.

Cara and Greef had even left them alone for most of the day, not that they weren't good company. But it felt like they were back in Mos Pelgo again as they roamed the streets. Luke had allowed Grogu to cuddle in between his robe and bare chest, the child happily snuggling into the body warmth and watching curiously as they showed him certain shiny objects.

But time was slipping right from under their feet, and before they knew it Cara had found them and asked if they wanted to go to Greef's office and have dinner there. They agreed, of course, allowing her to guide them to where Greef was waiting patiently with a full supply of bread, meats, cheeses, and fruits to snack on.

He smiled at only Din when they entered, opening his arms to give the Mandalorian a good squeeze and firm pat on the shoulder before side-eyeing Luke and sitting himself down again. The tension did not fizzle out, and it lasted throughout the meal. Din noticed of course since he was busy feeding Grogu. He'd eat later.

Greef did finally break the awkwardness, but it wasn't friendly and Din could see the curiosity in the man's eyes as he finally focused his attention upon Luke for the first time since they had entered his office.

"I've got a question for you...Luke."

Luke looked up from his plate, chewing on fruit. He looked almost desperate, the silence probably killing the Jedi. Luke knew that these were Din's friends, and they were showing he wasn't trusted by them yet. He yearned for their approval.

"Who's side are you on?" Greef asked, leaning his elbows upon the table as he glared at the Jedi. Luke had immediately turned his gaze from the man to his fruit, and that's when Din decided to butt-in.

"Greef..." Din spoke, shuffling his body along the chair to look towards his friend. He couldn't show he was glaring, but his tone was enough for Greef to give him a tentative look.

"No it's okay, " Luke's voice spoke to Din with calmness, a true Jedi response.

"I understand that I'm new to the both of you, and I'm sure all you've heard about me is stories about my work with the Resistance and the Jedi." Greef and Cara only acknowledged him with tight nods, allowing him to continue. Din watched with pure fascination.

"But in my many years as a Jedi, I've learned a lot of things. I've learned that there are things that my kind has done that aren't necessarily okay. There have been rules made that did more harm than good." He set his fruit down to lean back in his chair, giving them his full attention.

"And as for the Resistance, my sister and her family are continuously working for them...that group is the reason we don't have stormtroopers swarming our towns."

Greef and Cara didn't change their expressions, but they did look interested in Luke's explanation. Both groups that he was apart of had harmed but also did lot of good. Unfortunately now, both were also seen as extinct to many people.

"So...?" Greef asked simply, waiting for the answer to the question he had originally asked.

"So, " Luke parrotted back thoughtfully, leaving a pause that hung in the air as he looked towards Cara, then to Greef, next Grogu, and lastly looking straight into Din's visor.

"I'm on the Mandalorian's side, " Luke said with confidence, no stutter or waver in his voice. Din bit his lip underneath the helmet, chest warm with love.

Greef suddenly chuckled, it was half-hearted and friendly but caused Luke and Din to break their eye contact to stare back towards him.

"That's a dangerous side to be on, Jedi." And Greef was right. All his life Din has helped anyone that paid him the most, he had a shady past that Luke was well aware of. Even now as a father and a husband, Din knew the path he had made for himself would soon catch up to him. His enemies were waiting for him in the shadows, ready to strike and burn down his future.

But Din remembered when Luke and him laid in bed on the first night in Mos Pelgo. The way the Jedi looked up at him with his cheek pressed into his chest plate as he asked if they wanted to get married, even though they both had pasts that could affect them in the future. Luke had just as much baggage as Din had, and that made them a team.

"It's a side that I've grown to love, deeply." Luke's words made Din's stomach twist and cheeks grow hot. The Jedi was amazing with words, even if they had hidden meanings behind them as he spoke to Greef who was oblivious to their relationship.

But Cara knew of course, and she rolled her eyes. She didn't know that the Jedi were this cheesy.

After that, they were able to eat with less tension suffocating the air around them. Grogu helped the most, the child making many happy noises and attempted to play with the food Din was attempting to feed him. It made the group laugh fondly at the youngling who just looked at them with an oblivious expression. They even engaged in small talk, more amongst Greef, Cara, and Din, but Luke pitched in here and there.

It was getting dark, Din could see the harsh shadows across Luke's face from the darkness that leaked through Greef's windows. The lights amongst the place gave everything a harsh orange tone, causing them to start to feel the exhaustion of their day.

"We should be getting to the motel, " Din said after a pause in the conversation. Luke looked up at him as he stood with Grogu now cradled in his arms, dozing off.

"Thank you for having us, Greef and Cara," Luke said as he got up as well, gravitating beside Din immediately. The two looked a lot less unsure of the Jedi after the talk, and they even gave Luke small smiles and curt nods goodbye.

"I'll have two speeders waiting for you in front of the motel in the morning. I'll send you the coordinates to where your new ship will be waiting for you." Cara moved with them towards the door and to the streets, walking at Din's side.

"I can't thank you enough, Cara, " Din mumbled, wishing he could do more than just say thank you all the time. He'd repay her as much as he can, once things calm down.

As he and Luke started to part ways with her, Din was surprised to hear her speak up again.

"And Mando, " Din looked over his shoulder, Luke stopping a few paces in front of him. "Someone will be waiting for you at the docks to get you on your way."

Din had no idea what that meant, but Cara had given him a nod with a soft expression on her face that only revealed her kindness, no deception or guilt. So he nodded back, slowly turning to walk alongside Luke again.

+

"She didn't give you the name of the person meeting us at the ship?" Luke asked skeptically as they tied their belongings to their speeders. He was occupied with R2, Cara gracefully lending him a speeder with a seat attached to the side of it for the droid. He still attached ropes to his friend, worried with how much the droid liked to move that he would topple off.

It was barely the crack of dawn and not even the groggy old creature that occupied the pay station was out yet. But they decided it was best to leave as soon as the sun broke the sky, to leave with no one able to see them.

Din roughly tied a knot one last time to a first aid kit he got from Greef, it being the last thing settled on the back of his speeder. Luke had every right to be unsure about who they were meeting, especially when Cara was so vague, but Din had his full trust in her and knew whoever awaited them was going to be an ally.

"I have trust in Cara, she knows many great soldiers hidden in the system." Luke just nodded silently at Din's explanation, the Jedi still feeling wary. But Luke had to be completely honest, a feeling has been growing inside of him since they landed on Nevarro. It wasn't good, and it was an annoying pulse in his mind and shiver along his body that stuck to his skin like goo. But he didn't understand it, no matter how hard he tried.

Din straddled his speeder, looking towards Luke as he tightened his hands across the handles. It was time to go, the Jedi patting at R2's dome head before moving to Grogu who was attempting to catch a ferret that was skittering across the ground.

"We need to get going, Goober, " Luke mumbled, having to snatch the child up since Grogu was already protesting the travel plans. But Luke only felt sorry for his son and Padawan, it must've been a shocking change when all of a sudden they weren't just living a happy life in a small town anymore, but now bouncing off planets across the galaxy.

He settled Grogu in the sling across his chest, giving the child one short kiss between the ears as he blindly shuffled through his pack to find the goggles Marjorie had given to them. It was a struggle, but eventually, the goggles were snug around the child's head, Grogu staring up at his fathers through the cloudy eyepieces. Din let out a fond chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief. Still cute.

Once Grogu was taken care of, nothing was left to do but start their engines and blast off into the desert. Din had the coordinates locked into his bike, and he carefully watched the beacon guide him.

The ground was rough in some parts from the lava that was under the surface of Nevarro. Some areas were covered in ash and cole, causing Luke to have small coughing fits. Other areas had red vein-like cracks across the surface of the land, lava seeping out and hardening once it hit the sand. They watched their speed carefully, both staying alert and steering tentatively in different locations.

But slowly a city started to appear across the horizon, its large dark form occupying a good piece of the desert. It made both of them nervous at the size, knowing the more citizens, the more chance spies could he among them.

They forced those thoughts into the backs of their minds, focusing on the task at hand and reminding themselves that they weren't done travelling yet. There were still cracks of lava along the ground as they rode, small hills of cole built up to easily crash into.

Luke did start to recognize the city though, as it crawled closer and closer he remembered how the city looked from the sky while he was in his X-Wing. It started to click in his mind, this was where the Armorer had run off to.

He didn't bring this up to Din though, keeping that in his mind as they got into the home stretch of their journey. Luke reminded himself he must bring this up at some point before they get onto their new ship, knowing Din would want to know where his fellow Mandalorian was.

They slowed their speeders down, now coming up to the entrance into the city. The streets were packed with citizens, it was hard for them to squeeze their speeders through, them being forced to move at a walking speed. Luke had quickly shrugged his hood over his head, letting it dangle over parts of his face so he was unrecognizable.

It wasn't too horrible that they were forced to slow, it gave them time to bask in their surroundings, their eyes bouncing off each building they passed in fascination. Luke hadn't stayed in the city long when he was first here, too determined to find who he was looking for and leave before Grogu or Din got into the wrong hands. Din on the other hand had never been to the city before, and he curiously scanned around him, not being able to help the anxiety that tightened his chest.

It definitely wasn't a place for them to stay, that was for sure. The crowds were suffocating, too many buildings, too many places to hide, too many secrets that could be hidden behind those walls. All Din could do was simply admire the cities architecture and life, anxious to get out as soon as possible.

"We're coming up to the docking stations now," Din tried to speak over the hundreds of voices coming from the crowd around them. Luke managed to hear him though, nodding and hugging Grogu tighter to his chest.

The station was fairly large, a structure made of metal and brass that stood high above the streets. Many ships were docked inside it, all spread apart across the desert floor as they approached. Din saw the two guards standing in the entryway, both straightening when they saw him.

They were both looking back and forth between Luke and Din, then at Grogu with raised brows. Din could see that one of the guards tightened his hold on one of his guns, and that wouldn't do.

"Cara Dune had sent us, she has a ship waiting for us," Din spoke, making them both snap their eyes towards him. They still didn't look impressed.

"We need to see credentials and your license, " the guard on the left grumbled out, moving his gun to his side to walk forward towards Din. It wasn't rare for them to ask for these things and Din had all he needed to prove that he was able to fly, but shouldn't him saying he was sent by Cara Dune be enough?

He pressed a button on his wrist, a small hologram appearing in between the two of them showing his Captain's Accredited License.

The other guard was making his way over to Luke, and Din could see he was less than impressed to not be able to see Luke's face because of the hood. It made Din's heart stutter, he didn't think this part of the trip through, not thinking the guards would be this harsh.

"Permission to fly, sir?" Din asked flatly, allowing his impatience to show. He kept side-eyeing the guard that was now too close for comfort in front of Luke, gun still tightly held in his hands as he leaned down to catch a glance at the Jedi's face.

"Not quite yet, your friend here needs some credentials as well." The man pointed towards Luke with his gun, and Din held back the angry sigh that he wanted to let out.

"He won't be flying the ship, " Din explained, but his words were on deaf ears as the guard made his way over towards Luke to stand with the other guard. They were now standing in a half-circle around Luke and the speeder, staring at him with a hard glare.

"Remove the hood, traveller," the guard pointed his gun at Luke again and it made the tips of Din's fingers twitch towards his blaster. No, he couldn't make a scene.

Luke wasn't speaking, all that you could see was his lips and chin, the rest of his face covered in deep shadows and the hood. Din knew the Jedi was just as nervous as he was, and R2 beeped curiously beside Luke.

"I _said,"_ the guard took a stride forward, shoving lightly but rudely at Luke's head with the barrel of the gun. "Take off the hood, traveller."

Din felt powerless, his body stiff as he watched the situation unfold. Him attempting to negotiate with the two guards would probably still send them to jail, and a fight was definitely not an option. He hoped Luke had a plan, or else they were screwed.

"Guards, " Din's head whipped towards the front of the station, ears perking up, recognizing something. There was just a shadow to the voice, but slowly it grew until the person appeared.

"Let them through," the Armorer announced, standing tall with her Mandalorian gear still covering her body. She looked slightly different, no furs along her shoulders, and her armour dirtier, but she was alive and that was all that mattered.

"Armorer..." Din spoke breathlessly, not being able to believe his eyes. He knew Luke had told him that he had met the Armorer on Nevarro, but he never thought he'd see her this easily. He thought they would have to search the sewers below till they were dizzy, but here she was out in the open.

It raised a lot of questions, but Din could only show his gratitude right now as he got back on his speeder and made his way into the station, Luke following with a gurgling Grogu.

The Armorer guided them to where they could park, her posture seeming calm as they dismounted and moved to stand beside her. Luke had moved his hood up the slightest bit so she would recognize him, but it looked like she knew it was him before they even entered.

"Safe travels?" She asked, giving them both one last look before walking off into a dark and empty garage.

"Stay out here and keep watch, R2," Luke quickly called to the droid as he caught up beside Din as they made their way inside. Din recognized the Kiln and all the Armorer's supplies, she must have made a deal with the people to continue her work.

"Are you the person we are supposed to meet?" Luke asked, curiously, watching as she continued to work. She hadn't changed at all, Din recognized.

"Yes, I had made sure to stay in touch with your friend Cara Dune after I left, especially since she was assigned as an Imperial Officer. She knew you were looking for me, so she sent her ship here to await your arrival."

Cara never failed to surprise Din, her loyalty to him was something he couldn't wrap his head around. He had a good friend. 

"I was also told you are requesting new armour," she started to mould a piece of armour together as she spoke, and Din couldn't help but be slightly confused at her words. No, he didn't need new armour.

"I don't-"

"For the Jedi," she interrupted Din before he could speak further, and then it all clicked. Din remembers opening up to Cara about wanting Luke to be safer and more protected during their battles. How he wanted the Jedi to swear into the creed and wear the armour with pride.

"Me?" Luke asked, now fully revealing his face with wide eyes.

"You are a clan of three now, yes?" She asked as she placed a chest plate into the water, staring at them through the clouds of steam.

Din exchanged a look with Luke, smiling underneath his helmet.

"Yes," he answered confidently.

"And you are devoted to Din, to protecting him and your clan?" The Armorer was only looking at Luke now, still working with her tools as she turned her helmet towards Luke.

"Y-yes...yes of course, " Luke regained his determination, hardening his gaze towards her and squaring his shoulders.

"Then you'll wear and use this armour with pride and respect, as I'm sure you do with your Lightsaber as well." She turned away from them, and Din could see over her shoulder that there was a full suit of armour on the table. She was expecting them.

Not only that but making armour was not an easy task. She had gone through the trouble to create it, having full faith in Luke that he would wear it and honour the Mandalorian way.

The Armorer grabbed at a bicep plate, moving across the garage until she stood in front of Luke. Grogu was staring up at her with a familiar glint in his eyes, he probably recognized her from the last time they crossed paths.

The plate was then strapped onto Luke's bicep, it having a sharp contrast overtop of Luke's black robe. It fit perfectly and shone across Din's visor.

"Din has been apart of the Mudhorn clan along with his foundling Grogu. But, I see that that clan has evolved into something more." The Armorer reached into her pocket, revealing two metal swords.

"You, Luke Skywalker, earned your signet in the battle upon Zeffo. With yours and Din Djarin's swords, you defeated another remnant of the Empire." She moved one of the swords to Luke's plate and grabbed her welding tool to start welding the piece onto the metal. Sparks flew around them, and Luke blinked in astonishment.

"You are now the _Saber_ Clan. A clan of three," she spoke proudly as she stepped back to admire her work. It was then time to move onto Din, her not removing the Mudhorn symbol, but placing the sword along the other side of his bicep plate beside the old signet.

"Keeping your previous symbol shows your growth, and I hope you wield this new signet with pride and strength," Din nodded, feeling like his whole body was buzzing with life. Clan Saber, the clan of three. A Jedi, Mandalorian, and Padawan.

"Thank you, Armorer. This means a lot to me and my clan." Din wished he could hug her, the Mandalorian had done a lot for him throughout his time running across the galaxy with Grogu by his side. He wouldn't be here without her words of wisdom.

"Please find your way back to me soon, by then I will have your helmet, Luke." Luke smiled widely at her words, ecstatic to hear about the final piece to his suit. The smile had stayed as the Armorer moved back and forth across the garage, slowly piecing the armour together and making it a complete set across Luke's body.

"Now go and find your sanctuary. A war is brewing and you three are caught right in the middle of it." She said as she stepped away from placing the final piece of armour on Luke's body. She stepped over to Din, placing a hand upon his shoulder and handing him the ship's location in the station. They both exchanged one last nod, the Amorer bidding the clan a goodbye.

+

R2 was out of the speeder once they stepped out of the garage, the droid whirring in delight at their return. Luke only acknowledged R2 with a pat on the head, both Din and him focused on finding that ship.

They moved at a steady pace across the docking station, the guards from before still staring at them from the entrance with distaste. Luke and Din just ignored them, the more important thing was getting off this planet and to Sorgan.

The ship was in view, Luke could see it in the middle of the station, the bright sun shining its light upon the metal of the ship. It was the same size as their old one, and that was all they needed.

"Get strapped in as soon as-"

But then the world went dark, Luke's ears were ringing and everything surrounding him sounded like it was behind glass. He blinked once, twice, three times before finally seeing light appear in his blurred vision.

It hurt to look around, a throbbing pain engulfing his head. He could feel wetness along the right side of his face, hot liquid dripping down his cheek and onto his new armour. The sun was blinding him, but all he could do was look up. Was he dreaming? Had he died and gone to heaven? Was Din holding him in his arms and letting him look up at the sky?

He almost wanted to smile, he was in such a disoriented state it almost felt good. But reality came crashing down on top of him when Moff Gideon stepped in front of the sun, the man looking down upon him with a wicked smile.

His hearing was starting to come back, and as he blinked up at Gideon he could hear the muffled sound of a baby crying, why wasn't anyone calming it down?

Gideon was now kneeling, his face inches from Luke's. He was just staring, that sick smile frozen across his face as if Luke was a prize-winning kill.

But then his smile fell, eyes growing dark. Now Luke was staring at the void of the Dark Side and the Empire.

"Next time I would cover your tracks a lot better, Jedi."

Then Gideon was gone, and the sun was back to blinding Luke. But the words stabbed Luke in the chest and sent him jolting upwards as if an electric shot went through his body. He was immediately dizzy and felt like he was going to vomit, but all he could do was stare off towards the crying.

The sight before him caused a stirring in his body that he never felt before. A feeling that was taboo, strange, and uncomfortable. It sent heat to his heart and tremors through his muscles, something that could only bloom because of love.

 _Rage_. Pure, red, _rage_.

There was Din, his unconscious body being dragged up into an Empire ship that had landed on top of the now obliterated Imperial ship that was supposed to be their getaway. Blood was on Din's armour as well, his head limp to one side as two droids struggled to drag him up the ramp. Then there was Grogu, the child crying and holding his little hand out towards Luke as he was carried away into the ship next. No powers came from his movements, and all Grogu could do was cry for his father.

The child must have been thrown from his sling when the blast hit them, Din probably knocked out since he had been the closest. There was no sign of R2, the droid missing.

With the rage came a numbness to his wounds. Luke felt no effects, teeth gritting together as he grabbed for his Lightsaber and charged forward. All he could see was red, all he wanted was blood.

But his body denied the movements, Luke immediately crumpling forward to puke across the sand as the dizziness overtook him. He tried moving again, swiping the Saber uselessly across the empty air as if that would do anything to save his clan.

"No!" He screamed, and he couldn't tell if there was more blood seeping down his face or if it was his tears.

"No, no, no...Din, _no, no_ , Grogu!" He was a mess, throat growing raw as he screamed his lungs off. He somehow found himself back on the ground, Saber falling from his grip as his vision started to darken at the sides and close-in on him.

The last thing he saw was Moff Gideon's face as the ramp closed, the ship quickly blasting off and disappearing in just the blink of an eye. Now Luke was kneeling amongst the wreckage, fire and smoke circling his damaged body, reminding the Jedi of the hell that had just fallen upon him.

 _They were so close_.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimers after reading: 
> 
> there WILL be a third part to this series and I already have it planned out. I have no idea when it will come out, but if you comment and get me motivated then for sure it will be out just as fast as this part :) 
> 
> Han and Leia are still not involved in this series, but I assure you I have plans for them in the third part. I just wanted to focus on the Mandalorian show and those characters for this and the previous part.
> 
> Bo-Katan is kinda depicted as a villain in this, and I understand in certain shows she is not like that at all. Although in the Mandalorian I could really see her hunger for the Darksaber and that she would do anything to get it. 
> 
> Thank you again for reading, commenting, bookmarking, and leaving kudos. I was so so proud of my work after reading what you all had to say.


End file.
